A trainer has been gored by a dear after trying to make the animal perform during a circus show.
A video of the dramatic moment shows a female tamer inside a circus ring and the animal suddenly turning on her.
The trainer was pushed by the beast against a low barrier at the edge of the ring.
Other circus staff in the Russian city of Barnaul intervened to move away the deer while children and their parents watched in horror.
The tamer suffered “abrasions” in the incident, but was not seriously hurt, according to reports.
A spokesman for Maska travelling circus said there was “no reason to punish” the deer for the attack.
“It is not the animal’s fault that this happened,” local Bankfax newspaper reported.
According to reports, props were in the wrong place and the deer “got scared”.
But the clip of the incident sparked complaints of animal cruelty, with protesters also criticising another show in which a leopard was made to do a "trapeze act" as it was lifted high inside the big top lining on by its claws and teeth.
Kseniya Semenova said: “I am insanely sorry for the animals. That's why they rebel, show aggression.
“They are tortured. If only the trainers were hit with the same whips and let them swing in the air like the leopard.”
Slavyana Kerekesha said: “A law on animal abuse was adopted, but the police and authorities stubbornly do not apply it.
“When will you close this shame? Cruelty, exploitation and insecurity.”
This circus has performing parrots and monkeys as well as an ostrich, kangaroo and ponies.
Irina Novozhilova, of animal rights group VITA, has called for the prohibition of all circuses with live animals, which remain popular across Russia.
She said: “No circus conditions will be humane for one simple reason. Training goes hand in hand with cruelty.
“Circuses are always cruel beyond limits. And circuses with animals should be banned.”
