A donkey was led past the Prophet ﷺ which had been branded on its face. He said, "Has it not reached you that I have cursed anyone who brands an animal on its face or strikes it on the face?" And he forbade doing so.
حدثنا محمد بن كثير أخبرنا سفيان عن أبي الزبير
أن النبي ﷺ مر عليه بحمار قد وسم في وجهه فقال أما بلغكم أني قد لعنت من وسم البهيمة في وجهها أو ضربها في وجهها فنهى عن ذلك
No references are available.
[Sahih] Ahmad reported it in 3/323 from the hadith of Sufyan Thawri, and Muslim, in the Book of Clothing and Adornment, chapter on the prohibition of striking an animal on its face or branding it there, hadith 2117, from the hadith of Abu Zubayr, with the same wording.