Shanghai Wild Animal Park has been accused of profiting from animal cruelty by allowing visitors to take photos with infant animals.

A video that circulated on social media shows a tiger cub being passed around visitors by a zoo employee, who slaps the animal around the face in an attempt to get it to open its eyes.

The clip also shows one boy pushing the animal off his lap and onto the ground.

According to the netizen who posted the clip, identified by jfdaily.com as a Mr Lin, visitors were allowed to take pictures with young tigers, lions and bears for just 30 yuan ($4.30) a time.

At no point were they asked to wear any protective clothing or disinfect their clothes or skin, he said.

First posted on Nov 6, the video has been viewed more than 4.5 million times. Many netizens have condemned the zoo for malpractice and visitors involved.

Shanghai Wild Animal Park, which opened in 1995 and has thousands of animals in captivity, has declined to comment, according to jfdaily.com.

In a notice posted in 2010, the State Forestry Administration urged zoos across China to stop allowing close contact between visitors and animals and to end all abusive performance practices.

Cheng Si contributed to this story.