A disturbing video has emerged from the Middle East of a lioness getting viciously beaten by a group of men.

The animal, which is on a leash, can be seen lay on the ground as a man in grey overalls tries to pin it down.

At this point the feline shows some resistance, wrapping its claws around the man's torso, stoking a mean reaction from those at the scene.

The lion, which is on a leash, can be seen lay on the ground as a man pins it down and slaps it, moments after he had ridden it

The big cat is quickly restrained and then receives slaps around its head from the man in grey as others look and laugh.

As he withdraws from the lion it then pounces towards him only to be thwarted by another man in a yellow t-shirt.

The cruelty then escalates, the man in yellow mounts the creature and even rides it for a few moments.

He eventually topples the animal and begins slapping its face and cursing at it.

The men can be heard saying 'hit him, shame him' in Arabic during the beating.

The lion groans as it is lead from side-to-side. A cage can be seen in the background.

Four Paws UK, Country Director, Brian da Cal told the MailOnline that such treatment on animal has no place in the 21st Century.

The big cat is quickly restrained and then receives slaps around its head from the man in grey as others look and laugh

He said: 'This shocking footage will disgust animal lovers everywhere. It is obvious that this lioness is in great distress, being held down, dragged along the ground and physically abused by her laughing tormentors who seem to have scant regard for her well being and who have absolutely no idea how to handle a wild animal.

'Wild animals should be able to live out their lives in their natural environment, with their own species and with dignity and respect from humans. Wherever this footage was shot, the cruelty being shown here has no place in the 21st Century.'

The clip was discovered by non-profit organisation Animal Peace and uploaded to their Facebook page yesterday.

The group say the background to the video is unknown although the footage was possibly taken in Saudi Arabia.

A caption with clip read: 'The background is unknown.. the video comes from Saudi Arabia and shows once more that wildlife is enslaved and tortured.'