This footage showing a youth throwing a live pigeon at the person filming, causing it to hit the camera and the filmmaker to stumble, has caused outrage after it shared online.

The incident took place recently in the city of Kovel, in north-western Ukraine’s Volyn region.

The footage shows the person filming panning the camera down and showing his trousers bizarrely unbuttoned before bringing the camera back up as his friend walks towards him holding the live pigeon.

The person filming giggles as his friend steps backwards and takes aim with the pigeon, throwing the poor bird straight at the camera lens, with it hitting the device as the footage ends.

The images were shared online by local animal activists who slammed the young men as “degenerates”.

They said: “What does degeneration look like? It’s when your hands are given to you to shoot videos for stories, but your brain has long been flushed down the toilet.

“And poking with unbuttoned pants into the lens is the best way to show your masculinity.

“Oh, no, also catching a dove and throwing it into the camera. Two ‘operators’ are filming this madness.”

They called for the youths to be identified so the authorities can “help them said that energy in the right direction.”

It was unclear at the time of writing if the authorities are investigating the alleged animal abuse.