Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News

This is the shocking moment an African migrant barbecues a cat on an improvised fire in the middle of an Italian town square.

The viral incident was filmed several metres from the train station in Comune di Campiglia Marittima in the province of Livorno located in the western Italian region of Tuscany.

MEP Susanna Ceccardi posted the video on Facebook where it has been viewed 4.5 million times and was shared by 110,000 netizens.

In the footage, a woman is seen shouting at the black man as he apparently cooks a cat on a makeshift fire on a small square.

She says “we do not cook cats” and he replies “I do not have any money”.

The woman also accused him of “having money for cigarettes”, but the man continued with his barbecue even until the police arrived on the scene.

Local media said that he was taken to the police station where he was confirmed to be in the country legally.

A complaint has reportedly been filed against him for animal abuse.

According to local media, the man in the video is a 23-year-old Ivory Coast national who requested international protection in Italy, but which has been so far denied by the authorities.

Ceccardi said: “This woman was shocked and desperately tried to stop the migrant who cooked a poor kitten in front of everyone.

“How is such cruelty possible? Is this the new ‘lifestyle’ we should follow? Is this our ‘welcoming system’ in the Tuscany region? This is not integration.”

Italian politician Michaela Vittoria Brambilla called it “an unacceptable, terrible act”.

The investigation continues.