Teachers at a small horse riding club, which is especially for minors with special needs, in Brazil asked their students to paint a horse in order to familiarize animals, but little did they know they will be brought into the topic of animal cruelty.

The teachers at the horse-riding club aimed to help kids with special needs to feel more comfortable around animals.

They did this by letting them doodle on one of the white horses of the club.

As soon as the pictures of the white horse, which was covered in paint, went viral on social media, animal rights activists and social media users started a debate.

Other users said the activity was completely normal as the incident happened in a controlled environment.

It is reported that the teachers gave non-toxic paints to the students, and did the entire activity for a good purpose.

But not everyone had that good thought in their minds.

Animal rights advocates said the entire activity and incident was nothing less than pure animal abuse.

Sérgio Maggio, a journalist and an animal rights activist, said, “An animal is not a toy for entertaining kids during vacation.”

Other social media users said the teachers should have told the children to paint on her instead of the horse.

The Brazilian Institute of Environment visited the special needs school to take a look at the horse.

The report by the Brazilian Institute of Environment stated that the horse was in good shape despite pictures of it having painted all over its body went viral on social media.

Do you think the teachers did the right thing? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment in the comment section below!