A Malaysian state chief minister is under police investigation after a viral video showed him shooting a sacrificial cow with a shotgun at an Eid ul-Adha event, triggering public anger and questions over gun use, animal welfare and Islamic slaughter rules.

Police in Perlis, a small northern state bordering Thailand, said they had seized the shotgun believed to have been used by Chief Minister Abu Bakar Hamzah at the korban (ritual sacrifice of livestock) ceremony in Kuala Perlis on Thursday.

Officers also seized nine rounds of buckshot ammunition and recorded Abu Bakar’s statement after a police report was lodged over the 38-second clip circulating online, Kangar police chief Yusharifuddin Mohd Yusop said on Saturday.

While checks confirmed Abu Bakar held a valid firearms licence for the weapon, police are investigating the case under Section 39 of Malaysia’s Arms Act 1960, which governs the discharge of firearms in public places. A conviction carries penalties of up to one year in jail, a fine of up to 2,000 ringgit (US$504), or both.

Abu Bakar has defended his actions, claiming the cow had broken loose and turned aggressive during the ceremony.

“I didn’t shoot the cow for fun. It had become aggressive,” he was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today. “If we had left it alone and it gored someone to death, who would be held responsible?”

He said he shot the animal in the leg, after which it fell and was slaughtered “as usual”.

In a social media post, Abu Bakar said he had personally slaughtered 25 cows as part of the ceremony.