Disturbing footage has captured the sickening moment two bears were forced to box one another on their hind legs in front of a laughing audience at a cruel Russian circus.
The wild beasts – removed from their natural habitats – can be seen dressed in shorts and wearing boxing gloves in shocking videos shared online.
The animals are made to perform in boxing rings under fluorescent lights in front of large and loud audiences in resorts like Sochi on the Black Sea.
Horror video captured by an audience member at one bout act showed two bears fighting each other – each with a circus trainer gripping onto a rope attached to the large predators in an effort to keep them under control.
Bright spotlights glare down onto the brown bears who are then forced into the centre of the ring, before they begin pushing and shoving one another.
Shocking footage captured the moment two brown bears were forced to fight in a boxing ring at a Russian circus
The bears can be seen wearing shorts as they stand under the venue’s fluorescent lights and fight in front of hundreds of cheering audience members
The video showed the animals being dragged by a handler back into corners of the boxing ring by a rope before they began their next round of righting
They butt heads and swing their paws while standing on their hind legs, terrifyingly reaching almost the same height as their trainers.
After a few moments, they are reigned back into their opposite corners of the ring while the crowd cheers and claps, preparing for the next round.
Then a third, taller bear,, runs into the ring to play the role of a boxing attendant.
This bear, donning striped shorts, returns later with flowers for the champion.
Another video of the circus act shows the two large bears wearing boxing gloves fighting each other as all the circus lights are switched on.
Hundreds of people can be seen gathered around the stage as they wait in anticipation to see how the fight unfolds.
They can be seen leaping towards each other while standing on their hind legs, throwing furious punches as two handlers attempt to stop the bout from spiralling into something potentially more violent and deadly.
Following an increasing number of reports of this ‘cruelty’, and as more shocking footage of such events is shared online, animal lovers are calling for the practice to be demolished.
A petition from Russian animal rights campaigner Yuri Koretskikh against such cruel spectacles has been signed by more than 116,000 people.
It picked out a bear boxing performance at the Sochi Circus and said: ‘The [circus] trainers considered such an animal fight funny, but the audience did not appreciate their creative idea and on social networks demanded that the organisers be charged with cruelty to animals.
‘This video once again colourfully tells us about the level of degradation of circus art in Russia and about the real attitude of trainers towards animals.’
Another video of the cruel fight shows the animals fighting under the bright circus lights in front of a large audience
They crash and knock into each other as their handlers move around the ring in an attempt to stop the fight from becoming too violent
Yuri Koretskikh, an animal rights activist started an online petition against bear boxing in Russian circuses which has been signed by over 116,000 people
The petition demands legislation ‘to ban the use of animals in circuses’.
On social media one survey of commenters showed 349 angry reactions, with 116 upset, and 23 crying.
However, circuses remain popular in Russia, and animals are traditionally a central element of performances.
Koretskikh heads the Russian Alliance of Animal Protectors which said: ‘While modern world circus art is rapidly moving towards humanity, banning the use of animals in circuses, the Russian circus lobby is actively resisting progress, defending its commercial interests.’
Recent polls show that the majority of respondents ‘no longer want to see animals suffer in circuses’, said the campaign.
It comes after the Kremlin was last year condemned for using a ‘horrific’ animal circus to entertain Ukrainian war orphans in Mariupol.
Propaganda films showed beavers, bears and bison performing tricks. State news agencies claimed it brought residents ‘happiness, love and joy’ in ‘difficult times’.
Videos showed a bear dancing with a hoop at the Russian State Circus, a beaver flying on a trapeze while apparently urinating in distress, and beavers pulling a carriage of ducks.
Marie Struthers, of Amnesty International, said at the time: ‘There’s something grotesque about Russian authorities using a circus to try to normalise their occupation.’
