A twisted shopkeeper tied a mouse to a jar and tortured it with a stick after catching it stealing food.

Melahalli Ramanna tied the rodent with green string attached to its limbs at his shop in Mysore, southern India.

Disturbing video shows the shopkeeper beating the mouse so hard the jar falls on the floor.

A twisted shopkeeper tied a mouse to a jar and tortured it with a stick after catching it stealing food

The mouse had been raiding Ramanna's shop every night, feeding on his groceries and destroying other items.

He had been unable to catch the rodent until it eventually fell into his trap.

The torture was captured in a 32-second video recorded by Ramanna's friend on a mobile phone.

As the poor mouse whimpers, Ramanna repeatedly asks: 'Will it eat gram flour and wheat again?'

His friend can be heard laughing in the background and saying the video would look good if music could be added to it.

The video then stops there without revealing the animal's fate.

Melahalli Ramanna tied the rodent with green string attached to its limbs at his shop in Mysore, southern India

Animal welfare officer Anthony Rubin, from India, has branded the footage 'disturbing'.

He said: 'This is truly a disturbing video. I do not know where the world is heading. How can a person torture an animal like that?

'These people are a serious threat to the society and actions should be taken against this person so he knows what is right and what is wrong. This is not how animal should be treated. This is torture.'