Rebel Wilson angers animal rights activists with wombat work-out video

Rebel Wilson has angered animal rights activists after posting footage of herself working out with a wombat during a visit to a zoo in Sydney.

The 40-year-old took to Instagram last month to share a video of herself performing squats while using a wombat as a weight.

"This wombat workout was supervised by trained professionals," she captioned the post.

Now the Pitch Perfect star has come under fire from officials at the World Animal Protection organisation, who took issue with the posts, and stated that they are dismayed by her actions.

"We are disappointed to see Rebel Wilson handling Australian wildlife with such disregard for their wellbeing," executive director Simone Clarke told News.com.au on Monday.

She continued: "Wombats are not a photo prop or plaything, they are sentient beings, and experience distress when handled by humans."

Wilson has yet to respond, but subsequent posts on the star's Instagram show the comedian on her 'year of health mission' as she works to drop her weight.

"I turned 40 as well in March and so I thought, this is gonna be it," she said in a recent interview with The Sun: "This is going to be the year for me to just concentrate on the health benefits."