This footage showing a man filming himself spray painting a poor monkey blue has caused outrage after being shared online.
The incident follows on from an almost identical incident in Malaysia at the end of May, and this time the spray-painting took place in Santa Juliana, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
The heartwrenching clip shows the Brazilian man, named as 50-year-old Ivair Heraldo da Cunha, spray painting the caged monkey with the toxic-looking blue paint.
In the video, he can be heard saying (in Portuguese): "Have you ever seen a blue monkey in your life?"
In the images, Ivair also said that the animal was very "cute" painted blue, highlighting the paws and tail completely covered in the blue spray.
The monkey then reportedly managed to escape and flee into the forest nearby.
The video caused outrage after being shared online.
According to police chief Wesley Lucena, the man was arrested for animal cruelty. He gave a statement but was released pending trial.
If convicted, he could face a sentence of three months to a year in prison.
Man paints monkey blue with spray in Santa Juliana, Brazil, undated. Police is investigating the case of animal abuse. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video(Newsflash/NX)
But for veterinarian Marcio Bandarra, there was no doubt that the primate suffered as a result of the attack.
He said: “These spray paints contain a lot of solvents, resins or even some heavy metals.
"These materials, when in contact with the animal’s respiratory system or skin, which is another route of penetration, can cause obstruction of the respiratory tract, drowsiness, metal poisoning and difficulty breathing.
"This animal, if it does not die, is vulnerable as well as it is more easily spotted by predators, greatly increasing the chance of being preyed upon."
In the earlier incident, a man in Malaysia was seen spray-painting another monkey in a cage blue in Shah Alam, a town in the country's Selangor province.
Man paints monkey blue with spray in Santa Juliana, Brazil, undated. Police is investigating the case of animal abuse. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video(Newsflash/NX)
The footage shows an older man shaking a can of blue spray paint before dousing the defenceless animal inside a cage while a voice off-camera laughs.
Animal rights activists and NGOs slammed the abuse and demanded harsher penalties for offenders.
A police spokesperson said the man, whose identity was not revealed, was detained after a tip-off from a member of the public, but it was not revealed what action was eventually taken against him.
(Joseph Golder / newsX)