Footage circulating online of a nine-year-old boy shooting a bear as a birthday treat has prompted disgusted viewers to label the father "sick" and accusing him of "child abuse" for taking the child hunting .
The Daily Mirror revealed the footage of Reed Sutley smiling with friends at his birthday party before pulling the trigger, killing the animal.
The three-minute video, entitled “9 Year Old Shoots First Bear at Birthday Party”, was posted on YouTube by the boy's father, Greg Sutley.
The clip has sparked a lot of anger on social media, with Mr Sutley being lambasted for "teaching little children to kill animals".
Reed Sutley aims his rifle at the bear
The footage shows Reed looking through the scope of a rifle and gleefully killing a black bear.
Smiling with his friends as he perches above the clearing, the boy watches bears approach the area to eat food that had been left to lure them nearby.
The footage, which has now been deleted, shows a number of the animals come into view as Reed tries to pick one to shoot while hunting with four friends in Alberta, Canada.
Two bears settle down to tuck into the food that has been strategically place.
The video shows Reed gleefully selecting one of the bears, with his cameraman father issuing instructions of where to shoot the animal.
After pulling the trigger, Reed shouted "yeah".
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Nine-year-old shoots bear for birthday
Self proclaimed "animal avenger" Ricky Gervais posted a link to the article on Twitter.
Reactions to the video has been very angry, with many feeling "sick" and others labelling it "child abuse".
The write-up below the video showed a proud father commenting: "Reed took his first bear with a perfect shot!"
Mr Sutley runs a hunting company in Alberta. The company's website boasts: "We maintain a 90% opportunity on moose, elk, whitetail and mule deer hunts."
Hunting is certainly not a new hobby in central or north America, but the shooting of Cecil the Lion this summer sparked huge controversy with many condemning the bloodsport.