This is the moment a young girl emerges from a car with a pet cheetah on a lead – which she then struggles to keep under control.

The footage of the girl, who appears to be around 10 years old, walking her pet cheetah was filmed in an unspecified location in Saudi Arabia and caused a stir on social media.

The clip shows how the girl leads the big cat out of an open car door and then struggles to keep it under control as she is seen tugging on its leash.

The kingdom’s National Centre for Wildlife has warned the population against keeping so-called “exotic pets” and has refused to provide ownership licences for such wild animals.

According to the Saudi Ministry of Interior, predatory animal owners risk being jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to SAR 30 million (GBP 5.7 million) if caught and found guilty.

The National Centre for Wildlife believes such animals are smuggled clandestinely into Saudi Arabia or are bred inside the kingdom in secret.

Local media report that videos showing owners with their pet animals such as cheetahs and lions are commonplace on Saudi social media.

A Saudi man aged 22 was reported to have bled to death shortly after his pet lion attacked him in the capital, Riyadh, last month.

Saudi animal activist and animal rescuer Loulwa Almarshad said: “Wild animals belong in the wild.”

She said many Saudis who own such animals do so as a display of wealth. Of the latest clip, she commented: “This is animal cruelty.”