Slaughterhouse staff played wolf sounds to sheep and ‘inflicted immense pain, fear and distress’
Exclusive: Three workers sacked after secret cameras reveal horrors at no-stun abattoir
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Halal abattoir staff slammed sheep hard onto concrete floors and played wolf howling recordings to the terrified animals as they were dying, footage reveals.
In a string of acts captured by hidden cameras, workers also breached animal-welfare laws in ways that an academic said would have inflicted “immense pain, fear and distress”.
Sheep were inadequately killed, showing signs of life and suffering for up to four minutes after their throats were cut and when workers started dismembering them, an expert’s report says.
But an official food-standards inspector who was watching failed to act, according to the film-maker who shot the scenes in secret.
The video, taken at a no-stun slaughterhouse in Arley, Warwickshire, showed five allegedly illegal types of activity, the analysis suggests. It began with the “extreme rough handling” of animals by staff as sheep were slammed into floors and walls, and workers smacked a door into their faces, the video shows.
A mechanical restrainer of sheep for slaughter appeared ineffective, so many sheep escaped after their throats had been cut, according to Jenny L Mace, an associate lecturer in animal welfare and ethics at the University of Winchester.
Her report details how abattoir workers moved, hoisted and started to dismember sheep that were still conscious, with some animals showing signs of life more than two minutes after their throats were cut and even when workers had started to cut their legs off.
The investigation, carried out by animal-rights film-maker Joey Carbstrong, also showed sheep jumping barriers to try to escape as they were thrown or dragged into the restrainer before being killed.
Since the abattoir expanded last year, residents of Arley have been up in arms about the stench from it and the increase in large tankers driving through the village to remove blood, carcasses and wastewater.
Abattoir chiefs say about 1,000 lambs and sheep a week are slaughtered there.
Mr Carbstrong, who used several cameras to film over 10 days, said the incidence of breaches of animal-welfare laws was likely to be higher still than the report documented because Ms Mace analysed only 1h 46mins out of more than 200 hours of footage.
He criticised an official from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) who, he said, was filmed apparently taking no action when she “witnessed a botched slaughter”. The footage shows her observing as animals’ throats are cut.
Under the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing law workers must wait at least 20 seconds before moving sheep.
Sheep hung on shackles were recorded moving for up to 25 seconds after slaughter, and at one point an animal was seen lifting its head, but the official took no action, it’s claimed.
The report also identifies 31 “problematic welfare indicators”, pointing to “immense pain, fear, and distress for the sheep”.
“Charges should be brought against this slaughterhouse and/or staff for the numerous illegal practices,” Ms Mace writes.
She also found that sheep were forced to witness the bleeding and hoisting of other sheep close by, as well as sheep being forcibly held down by workers before having their throats cut.
Several times, workers mocked sheep that struggled to escape or that were about to be killed. And at one point wolf howling sounds were played over the sound system.
Workers resorted to conventional bolt guns on sheep that did not die when their throats were cut.
“Many Muslims also accept a reversible stun; thus, dialogue should continue with Muslim religious leaders to help further implement this,” the report says.
The proportion of UK slaughtered sheep that are killed with stunning – which means animals cannot feel pain or suffer – fell last year, from 77 per cent in 2022 to 71 per cent, government figures show, suggesting more are being killed for the halal market.
Mr Carbstrong, who made Amazon Prime film Pignorant, said: “There can be no justification for the horrific treatment of animals we have filmed at this facility; the suffering and terror these animals have endured is unimaginable.
“The fact this is a non-stun slaughterhouse was never the point of the investigation.”
The slaughterhouse website says: “We take every precaution to ensure that all of our products are slaughtered strictly in adherence with the Sharia'ah.
“When sourcing our lambs, we ensure that we are only working with trusted suppliers who have the same ethos surrounding animal welfare, in line with our values as Muslims.”
It’s understood the FSA carried out a welfare assurance visit shortly after the secret filming had happened.
The slaughterhouse owner told The Independent that three staff were sacked as soon as the family business saw the footage and they were working with the FSA to prevent any recurrence and talking to lawyers.
He said: “I was shocked and so upset. It's really, really annoying. What happened is completely unacceptable.”
The business was increasing welfare checks, adding cameras to eliminate blind spots and bringing in more experienced managers, he said.
He said it was a new operation and he was inexperienced when filming took place.
“All I can do is assist the authorities with their inquiries and make sure we do whatever they think is appropriate, and take the relevant steps to make sure that this never ever happens again,” he said.
A spokesperson for the FSA said: “We are taking this issue very seriously. We have already taken immediate action to suspend several individuals from handling live animals and have increased onsite presence during all slaughter operations whilst we look into these allegations further.
“We await any further footage and meanwhile we continue to look into these allegations. We will not hesitate to take more action as we have a zero-tolerance approach to animal welfare breaches.”
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