In a truly shocking video a bear who is being cruelly forced to perform circus acts in front of a large onlooking crowd almost caused a chaotic seen after he tried to defend himself and attack a performer.
The video which has been shared thousands of times on social media has led to animal rights activists to voice their disapproval and outrage at performers for using wild animals in live shows.
In what can only be described as a near miss for the performers on stage the bear who is clearly distressed from being forced to perform a number of tricks in front of the crowd which was mainly made up of women and young children, can be seen pushing a performer off the stage and awaiting to pounce on his task master.
However just before the bear can attack his victim the man was rescued by his plucky assistant who somehow manages to calm the bear down by hitting him with a large stick. Although the bear instantly returns to performing many in the crowd are still reeling from the bears actions.
The incident which occurred during a performance in Russia has once again led to animal rights activists to call on the implementation of ban that will stop circuses and other performance shows from using wild animals in their shows.
Speaking about the incident which occurred in Russia, one leading wildlife expert said even though the incident was immediately prevented it could have been a whole lot worse as the bear was clearly agitated in the environment it was forced to perform in.
The expert also called on people to support such a ban and avoid attending such performances as the scale of cruelty these animals endure outside their natural environment is highly distressing and very rarely highlighted.
Video: Metro.co.uk