A man is facing a year in jail and a Dhs10,000 (€2,435) fine for posting a picture of a fox to Facebook.

The Indian man, whose age or profession was not stated in court, was brought in on charges of defamation after members of a Facebook group took offence to the posting of a fox.

According to MSN, they claim the image of the fox implied that the man was insulting them, by comparing them to the "cunningness and deception" of the animal.

UAE outlet 7DaysAE noted that the man admitted to posting the picture but denied having any intention of insulting members, and he told the judge that he liked the Facebook page and had used the picture of a fox only to express his high regard for the group.

The trial has been postponed to January 27th 2017, when the man's lawyer will present his defence case to the judge.