A Siberian shaman whose group slaughtered and burned five camels in a ceremony he said would "strengthen Russia" spoke out Thursday in a defence of a ritual that horrified many.

The group, based in the eastern Siberian city of Angarsk, this month posted an online video showing the burning of chopped-up camels on an open-air pyre.

The video, which was widely shared on social media but has now been removed from YouTube, prompted accusations of animal cruelty and sparked a rift in the shaman community.

Prosecutors have called for the shaman group, named Eternally Blue Sky, to face trial for animal cruelty, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence in Russia.

The leader of Eternally Blue Sky, Artur Tsybikov told AFP the ritual sacrifice on February 1 was part of traditional beliefs and is only held once every 300 years.

"We must not disobey the gods," he said.

He insisted "the animals were killed humanely" since shamans view camels as sacred.

Shamans are believed in some cultures to be able to communicate with spirits and heal people while in a state of trance or through rituals.

In Russia, shamanism is practised among indigenous peoples in parts of Siberia and the Far East.

Camels have long been bred in Siberia due to their hardy nature and ability to carry loads over long distances, as well as for their meat and wool.

"It's our tradition, I don't see anything wrong. We slaughtered them, cut them up and cooked them," Tsybikov said.

Shamans held the ceremony to strengthen Russia as it endures political and social turmoil, he said.

"We have pension reforms and people are unhappy, we have (Western) sanctions --- a lot of things are happening," said Tsybikov, who lives in Angarsk, an industrial city more than 4,000 kilometres east of Moscow.

Prosecutors in Angarsk on Wednesday said they had sent their findings on the ritual to police, requesting them to open a criminal case, TASS news agency reported.

The leader of Russia's shamans distanced himself from the ritual, issuing a statement in which he called for Tsybikov to lose his status as his regional deputy.

Shaman leader Dopchun-ool Kara-ool Tyulyushevich, who is based in eastern Siberia's Tuva region, told AFP the ritual was not true shamanism.

"They killed five camels. That's sadism. A shaman should love people, nature, animals and birds. But they don't love anyone," he said.