Barechested commandos brandishing knives take turns to charge towards a live dog, tied and spreadeagled between vertical poles. They slash and stab the helpless, yelping animal until it dies. Then, in a grotesque act of military machismo, the soldiers eat the dog's heart and drink its blood.
The troops belong to the Peruvian army and the slaughter of the dog is the climax of a series of 'bravery tests' to train them to be ruthless killers.
The barbaric ritual has been uncovered by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), a British charity which last night expressed disgust at the cruelty.
Jonathan Owen, a spokesman for the charity, said: "This is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty we have ever come across. Unlike most other forms of animal abuse, there is no commercial motive behind this.
"It is pure, unadulterated cruelty. They are using an animal that cannot defend itself to practise killing. They call it war games but this game always ends in the animal's death."
The cruelty was recorded by a cameraman who was invited to film the army's Otorongo Command Group 125, near Lima, the Peruvian capital. Shocked by what he saw, the cameraman passed the video to the WSPA.
The film shows the soldiers doing a number of other tests before they attack the dog. These include running through a ring of fire, and standing in a circle throwing a grenade to each other before one of them tosses it into the middle and they all dive to the ground as it explodes.
For the final challenge the soldiers run 20 yards towards the suspended dog, clutching an attack knife with an eight-inch blade. Some slash the animal just once; the more enthusiastic stab it repeatedly.
The mongrel can move its head but is otherwise utterly defenceless. It can only scream as the knives rip through its skin. Worse, the dog is a camp pet that belongs to the soldiers, an extra detail to ensure that these killers are rendered truly heartless, unhindered by emotion or sentiment.
Once the animal is dead and the soldiers have completed the test, they put their hands into the open wounds, pull out the innards and heart, tear them up and eat them.
The aim is to turn them into men who are not merely untroubled by the sight of blood, but positively relish it.
The brutal ritual ends with one of the soldiers putting the dog around his neck like a victory laurel and leading the troop on a 'lap of honour' around the training ground.
We, the undersigned are calling for this barbaric act to be stopped immediately.
omg..how sick and twisted is that,imagine wots goin on in their heads,once a beloved pet,then rippin it to pieces,nice story for a father to tell his child,wot parents will they turn out to be!!!!sick twisted weirdo,s…
What is this world coming to? Just sick and sad! Poor dogs.
This has to be stopped