This is the moment a pit bull yelps in pain after its thug owner releases it on cops who have come to his house to arrest him for wife-beating, and they shoot it.

The 30-year-old man, whose name has not been divulged, was nabbed in the neighbourhood of Jardim Conquista in the south-eastern Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.

The arrest took place in the early hours of 4th February, but the body-cam footage from the incident was made public only recently.

The police had been called to the man’s house to attend an incident of domestic violence.

He was accused of head-butting his wife on the forehead, punching her arm, trying to throttle her and threatening to kill her.

Officers turned up at the property, and one of the cops’ body cameras shows the moment the suspect opens his front gate and a pit bull comes charging out.

The dog is seen running straight towards the officer, who discharges his firearm at it at least four times.

The pit bull is then seen writhing and is heard yelping in pain after it is apparently hit. It is not clear if it later died.

The dog’s owner was arrested by the officers and the case was registered as domestic violence, bodily harm, resisting arrest and animal abuse.

The woman was also taken to the police station, where she showed officers signs of violence on her body.

According to the police, the man had been upstairs at the time and had seen the officers arriving at the property.

He then went downstairs with his pet dog and purposely released it on the cops when he opened the gate, say the police.

At the time of reporting, the case remained under investigation.