Ever the contentious figure, Kim Kardashian has once again come under fire after posing for a selfie with what appears to be a wild bird.

The picture, which was posted to Instagram, and captioned "Tweet Tweet", shows the reality television star with a large green and pink bird perched on her shoulder. However, criticism was not far off with an animal rights charity accusing her of compromising the animal's welfare.

A representative from World Animal Protection US proceeded to comment on the post:

"Kim, we know you’re an animal lover, but selfies with wild animals promote the poaching of wildlife for mere likes," they wrote. "These animals endure immense stress by constantly being held and handed from person to person. By posting images such as this, you are encouraging others to take photos with wild animals, further putting them at risk."

The comment continued:

"Please take a stand to protect animals and educate your followers on why wild animals belong in the wild and not in selfies."

Research by the World Animal Protection back in 2017 found that there had been a 292 percent increase in the number of selfies featuring wild animals posted to the photo-sharing site since 2014.

Per the charity, a quarter of these pictures showed people behaving in a manner that could be harmful to the creature in question.

In response to this trend, Instagram has set up an alert system for wildlife-related hashtags, which informs users of the abuse that can take place behind the scenes.

"We also encourage you to be mindful of your interactions with wild animals, and consider whether an animal has been smuggled, poached or abused for the sake of tourism. For example, be wary when paying for photo opportunities with exotic animals, as these photos and videos may put endangered animals at risk," reads guidelines on Instagram.

"Instagram works with wildlife groups to identify and take action on photos or videos that violate our community guidelines, such as posts depicting animal abuse, poaching or the sale of endangered animals and their parts."

Ever the contentious figure, Kim Kardashian has once again come under fire after posing for a selfie with what appears to be a wild bird.

The picture, which was posted to Instagram, and captioned "Tweet Tweet", shows the reality television star with a large green and pink bird perched on her shoulder. However, criticism was not far off with an animal rights charity accusing her of compromising the animal's welfare.

A representative from World Animal Protection US proceeded to comment on the post:

"Kim, we know you’re an animal lover, but selfies with wild animals promote the poaching of wildlife for mere likes," they wrote. "These animals endure immense stress by constantly being held and handed from person to person. By posting images such as this, you are encouraging others to take photos with wild animals, further putting them at risk."

The comment continued:

"Please take a stand to protect animals and educate your followers on why wild animals belong in the wild and not in selfies."

Research by the World Animal Protection back in 2017 found that there had been a 292 percent increase in the number of selfies featuring wild animals posted to the photo-sharing site since 2014.

Per the charity, a quarter of these pictures showed people behaving in a manner that could be harmful to the creature in question.

In response to this trend, Instagram has set up an alert system for wildlife-related hashtags, which informs users of the abuse that can take place behind the scenes.

"We also encourage you to be mindful of your interactions with wild animals, and consider whether an animal has been smuggled, poached or abused for the sake of tourism. For example, be wary when paying for photo opportunities with exotic animals, as these photos and videos may put endangered animals at risk," reads guidelines on Instagram.

"Instagram works with wildlife groups to identify and take action on photos or videos that violate our community guidelines, such as posts depicting animal abuse, poaching or the sale of endangered animals and their parts."