Horrific video footage has gone viral on Facebook capturing the moment a bull took its own life after its horns were set on fire as a jeering crowd stood by and watched.

The short clip shows the bull in the middle of a ring tied to a post with its horns on fire.  One man pushes the distressed animal in the rear as a large crowd claps and jeers.  Nobody can be seen in the footage trying to help the bull. 

A few moments later the bull breaks free and runs full charge at the post, at which point it slumps to the ground.  It appears to be killed on impact causing the crowd to react in shock.

The footage was recorded in Foios in Valencia, Spain, during the recent 'Bulls in the Street' festival, a similar event to the famous Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona in which men try to outrun a stampede of bulls through the town's streets.

The video was shared to Facebook by Bulls Defenders United, an activist group that campaigns against bullfighting. 

In its comments attached to the video post, the activist group wrote: 'A bull despairs with the fire on its horns and crashes the trunk to which it was tied. How many lives will still be taken in the name of traditions that are nothing but barbarity?'

The video has been viewed over 660,000 times.  Many of the comments left by viewers express outrage at the footage.  Spanish people are among the critics. 

One person wrote: 'I'm Spanish and hate the bullfight. Most Spanish are against bullfight, but our conservative government wouldn't move against this barbaric tradition.'

Another said: 'This is barbaric I only saw the bull fights once as a small child I did not like it then do not like it now!'

The video is shared below but warning, it contains graphic content and viewer discretion is advised: