SCREENSHOT

The bear was blowing into a vuvuzela while sat in the back seat of a jeep driving around Moscow.

Footage has surfaced of a bear blowing into a vuvuzela while being driven around in a jeep in Moscow after Russia's 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the opening World Cup match on Thursday (Friday NZ time).

The video shows fans gathered around the jeep while the bear, sat up, performs from the back seat.

The vuvuzela, the horn made famous at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, is clasped between the bear's paws before a man, who looks like the handler, takes it away.

The bear then appears to make an offensive gesture as onlookers take pictures on their phones.

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World Cup fans from Peru and Mexico were among a group following the jeep as it waited in traffic.

Twitter users were outraged by the "cruel" and disgusting" stunt of such "awful treatment of a beautiful animal", saying they wouldn't shed a tear "if that bear went on a rampage".

One said: "Breaks my heart. How people can stand and laugh is beyond me. The amount of abuse that bear has lived through makes me feel sick."

"They belong in the wild not to be beaten for your entertainment," said another.

The Independent report that the same bear, known as Tim, delivered a match ball for a Russian third division match between Mashuk-KMV and Angusht in April.

Elia Allen, the director of animal welfare charity Peta, said of that incident: "In addition to being inhumane and utterly out of touch, using a bear as a captive servant to deliver a football is downright dangerous."

 - Stuff