This is the moment a snake bites a young girl’s face at a Russian petting zoo.

The incident was filmed at the Butterfly Park petting zoo in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Russian region of Sverdlovsk Oblast, and the footage was shared on the Russian social network VK on 30th August where it has been viewed over 45,000 times in the first few hours.

Local media said the girl was taken to hospital after the snake bite while the petting zoo said it was the first time such an incident has ever taken place there.

The non-venomous snake, species not reported, was placed around the five-year-old girl’s neck and it bit her on the face while she was posing for the camera.

The girl’s father told local media: “I went to pick up my wife and children and they told me that my youngest daughter was bitten by a snake.

“I asked to see proof that the snake was non-venomous, that it was safe.

“We decided to call an ambulance and we took the girl to the Children’s City Clinical Hospital No. 9 to be checked over.”

Meanwhile, zoo representatives have reportedly contacted the girl’s parents to settle the matter privately.

The petting zoo also said that it was the first time such an incident has taken place, confirming that visitors are allowed to handle snakes there in accordance with the law.

However, they added that they will stop snake-handling activities in future to prevent a similar situation from taking place in the future.