PRESS RELEASE, 01-12-2011 by Animals Australia
Animals Australia says Australia should follow the UK’s lead and fit all abattoirs with closed circuit television cameras, in a bid to stop animal abuse like that uncovered in the Gippsland this week.
Executive Director, Glenys Oogjes, said the evidence captured of cruelty against pigs at the Trafalgar abattoir exposed a severe flaw in the system that only proper scrutiny and oversight can redress.
“Most concerning is that much of the cruelty documented looked like the routine method of handling and slaughtering pigs at this abattoir,” Ms Oogjes said.
“Pigs were being stabbed in the eyes and ears with stunning equipment in what seemed to be the regular method of stunning animals. One escaped pig was beaten to death with a sledgehammer despite a stunning device being nearby. Another was left unaided to bleed out after the throat cut for more than 5 minutes.”
“These are incredibly cruel and totally unacceptable practices that the current audit system of domestic abattoirs has failed to identify and prevent.”
Animals Australia said it was pleased that the abattoir had forfeited its licence but reiterated that there are no guarantees that similar breaches weren’t occurring in other Australian facilities.
“One of the problems is that unlike export abattoirs, domestic abattoirs don’t have an inspector or government officer on site most of the time. This lack of oversight leaves farm production animals incredibly vulnerable.
“Where ever eyes aren’t watching animals are at risk of cruelty. Reassurance will only come through a totally transparent system such as that being rolled out in the UK where one in five abattoirs have already been fitted with CCTV cameras.
“We would like to see a similar approach adopted in Australia for both domestic and export abattoirs. Only then could we be somewhat reassured that animals are protected from such gross acts of cruelty,” concluded Ms Oogjes.
Take Action Now: Click here to demand CCTV in all slaughterhouses
High resolution photographs: http://www.animalsaustralia-media.org/upload/photos/vic-abattoir-complaint/
On 21 November ‘Kate’ was given unprecedented open access to an abattoir in Victoria’s Gippsland. What she captured on film shocked and appalled authorities who, within 12 hours of receiving a formal complaint from Animals Australia, shut the slaughterhouse down and launched a full investigation.
Learn more: http://AnimalsAustralia.org/investigations/final-moments
PLEDGE TO TAKE ALL ANIMALS OF YOUR PLATE
Doesn’t the world have bigger problems? Let’s have bigger government put CCTV EVERYWHERE so that EVERYTHING can be monitored all the time!!! We need the nanny state!!!!!!!1
Baaah! Baahhh!
Great idea Let’s catch them in the act!
The sick things do it to animals because nobody can see them. If they know they are being watched the bastards would be gutless. PLEASE
install cctv all over the world where animals are at man’s mercy.
MY GOD ! WHAT THE HUMAN IS CAPEABLE OF IS UNBELIEVABLE , THE CRUELTY IS UNIMAGINEABLE SOMETHING THAT ANIMALS WOULD NEVER EVER DO . PUT CAMERAS IN AND LET THE WORLD SEE THE TRUTH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL of these places NEED cameras in them because people are cruel to animals. And this is uncalled for. This NEEDS TO STOP, NOW!!!!!!!!!!