The ancient city of Petra, Jordan's national treasure and best-known tourist attraction is in the spotlight after disturbing footage emerged of horses, mules, and donkeys being beaten by their owners.

Distressing video captured by a journalist at Petra on February 8 shows several acts of animal cruelty - including one man throwing a rock at a horse’s head, another male punching a donkey, and others kicking mules.

Several others were caught whipping their animals around the head with plastic hoses, all in full view of passing tourists.

Other animals were forced to carry tourists on long treks through the city, up steep, eroded steps, often in high temperatures.

It appears the majority of the abuse came from young Bedouins - the indigenous people who live within the walls of Petra.

In 2018, Jordan’s minister of tourism and antiquities was among those to commit to ending beatings and other abusive treatment, according to leading animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

PETA Senior Vice President of International Campaigns Jason Baker told Newsflare: "It’s incidences just like these – which we’ve documented over the years – that prompted PETA to set up a veterinary clinic to treat donkeys used for tourist rides.

In the last two months, our veterinarians have treated over 600 donkeys.

The reality is that donkeys need to be banned in Petra, and until they are, anyone visiting the historic site shouldn't ever ride them.

This particular boy – seen in the video footage – has been caught after PETA reached out to the authorities, as have the two boys who pushed a pregnant donkey off a cliff in Petra earlier this month, but reacting to the cruelty isn’t enough.

The cruelty needs to end."