Islamabad, June 18 (IANS/DPA): At least five men in southern Pakistan may face up to five years in prison for taking part in the mutilation of a camel, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident took place in Sanghar district of Sindh province on Friday when a landlord cut off the right leg of a camel for grazing in his fields. The other four men are accused of acting as his accomplices in the crime.

The brutal attack sent shockwaves across social media prompting the local government to take action.

"The culprits are in police custody, have confessed to the crime and may face up to five years in prison," Muqarrab Khan, a spokesman for Sanghar police, told dpa.

The owner of the camel, described as a peasant, was not willing to register a case himself, Khan said.

The camel, around eight months old, is being cared for by an animal welfare organization in the provincial capital of Karachi.

Junaid Nazir from the Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRS) animal shelter said that a company in Pakistan had been commissioned to manufacture a prosthetic leg.