“Horrendous” cases of animals being abused to please tourists across Europe have been filmed by investigators.

In one example, a wild bear is put on a skateboard, made to stand upright and pushed on a slide for circus audiences in the Czech Republic, despite looking sick and underfed, the researchers say.

In Germany footage shows elephants being made to sit on small chairs and stand on one leg after “brutal” behind-the-scenes training, it is claimed.

In Spain tigers are kept on chains for tourist selfies, while researchers found bears living in barren moats, also in the Czech Republic.