Video footage of a bear blowing a vuvuzela while being driven around in a jeep after Russia's World Cup victory has provoked criticism from animal lovers.

The film, which has nearly 1m views, shows the trained circus animal sitting upright in the back of the vehicle with the horn clasped between its paws.

After the trumpet was taken away by his handler, the bear then appeared to make an offensive gesture with its arms.

World Cup fans from Peru and Mexico can be seen taking pictures as the car waited in traffic in Moscow.

Twitter users condemned the stunt as "cruel" and "disgusting" and speculated that the bear may have had its claws removed to prevent it causing serious injury.

One said: "If that bear went on a rampage, I wouldn't shed a tear."

Others delighted in the spectacle with a barrage of laughing emojis and one fan joked that it was the French player "Antoine Grizzlyman celebrating his new contract".

"My favourite part is when the guy snatches the vuvuzela away from him and he looks so disappointed," said another.

One Russian Twitter user objected to claims that the bear was performing the "quenelle", an antisemitic gesture, by saying that it was "a version of middle finger gesture" which can be translated as "up yours".

In April the same bear, known as Tim, was used to deliver a ball at a third division football match between Mashuk-KMV and Angusht.

Animal welfare charity PETA described that stunt as "humane and utterly out of touch", adding: "Bears are not willing performers, so Russian circuses and other lousy acts take from their mothers as babies and then train them using beating, electric shocks, cigarette burns, and food deprivation to make them perform belittling, stupid tricks, which make no sense to them."

Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Show all 28 1 /28 Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A boy hangs from a goalpost in St. Petersburg Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Self-made goalposts stand on a soccer pitch in Verkhnyaya Biryusa village, located in the Taiga area near the Russian Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A boy rides a bicycle near a goalpost in Yevpatoria, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Hay fills a goalpost during the traditional Cossack games outside the village of Arkhonskaya in the Republic of North Ossetia, Alania Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A car is seen through a goalpost while driving along a road in the Siberian village of Tyulkovo Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Children play at a goalpost during the traditional Cossack games outside the village of Arkhonskaya in the Republic of North Ossetia, Alania Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the village of Pribrezhnoye, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia People and dogs walk near a goalpost on the Ostrov Otdykha (the Island of Rest), located in the middle of the Yenisei River Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A boy rides a gyro-scooter near a goalpost on a football pitch in the Siberian town of Divnogorsk Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Cossacks sit on a bench next to a goalpost covered with a screen during the traditional Cossack games outside the village of Arkhonskaya in the Republic of North Ossetia Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in front of an Orthodox church in the Siberian village of Tyulkovo Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Goalposts lay on the ground as people gather at a flooded beach on the bank of the Volga River in Samara Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in Yevpatoria Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A man sits on a goalpost in the settlement of Novo-Schedrinskaya, Chechnya Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A participant is seen through a goalpost during an amateur football tournament at the Zenit Arena, a stadium made from straw, in Stravropol Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost in a yard of a Stalin-era high-rise building in Moscow Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Goats walk near a goalpost in the village of Pervomayskoye, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands at a tourist centre on the bank of the Belyo Lake in the Republic of Khakassia, Siberia Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the town of Dolgoprudny in the Moscow region Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A man runs near goalposts on a football pitch in a settlement in Stavropol region Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A dog stands near a goalpost in Ryazantsevo settlement in Yaroslavl region Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Children play with a puppy near a goalpost on a football pitch in the Siberian settlement of Novosyolovo Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the village of Lesnovka, Saksky district, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the village of Zhuravli, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A man rides a horse near a goalpost in the village of Bolshaya Dzhalga in Stavropol region Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in Sevastopol, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A cadet holds a model of a sword in front of a goalpost as he trains at the stadium of the General Yermolov Cadet School in Stavropol Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the village of Glinka, Saksky region, Crimea Reuters

The bear was also filmed riding in the sidecar of a motorcycle in Russia in September last year.