Horrific abattoir footage shows cattle bludgeoned to death with sledgehammers – and one bull collapsing in fear before it has even been struck after watching the fate of its pen mates
- Video shows a cow repeatedly beaten over the head with a sledgehammer
- Another bull falls to the ground ‘in terror’ before he has even been struck
- Footage was taken at Vietnamese slaughterhouses by Animals Australia
- Australia has suspended live export with three Vietnamese abattoirs
- Photo shows a bull tied to a pole as a man stands with a sledgehammer
- Image from a video recorded by rights group, Animals Australia, in Vietnam
- Animal activists refused to release the video because it is ‘so shocking’
- An official complaint has been lodged with the government over treatment
- WARNING: DISTRESSING FOOTAGE
An ‘abhorrent’ video showing Vietnamese workers bludgeon what appears to be Australian live export cattle with sledgehammers has prompted authorities to suspend exports to three abattoirs.
The film shows a cow repeatedly beaten over the head with a sledgehammer before it falls to the ground and is clubbed a further four times before it dies.
Further video shows a bull fall to the ground in ‘terror’ before he has even been struck after watching the fate of his pen mates.
Australia’s live cattle trade with three Vietnamese abattoirs has been suspended after the footage was secretly obtained by Animals Australia investigators.
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WARNING: DISTRESSING FOOTAGE
A cow is repeatedly beaten over the head with a sledgehammer before it falls to the ground and is clubbed a further four times before it dies (pictured: cow believed to be Australian live export cattle)
Australia’s live cattle trade with three Vietnamese abattoirs has been suspended after the footage (pictured) was secretly obtained by Animals Australia investigators
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce described the footage as disturbing and ‘totally abhorrent’.
The abattoir at the centre of the most serious allegations is not approved to have Australian cattle under the strict Exporter Supply Chain Assurance system rules, Mr Joyce said.
‘It has not yet been confirmed on the evidence available whether the cattle were originally sourced from Australia. However, the Australian industry has already taken action to suspend all exports to identified Vietnamese abattoirs,’ Mr Joyce said.
‘Anyone viewing this footage would be shocked and upset at the mistreatment and we are taking these reports very seriously.’
He ruled out a live export ban, ABC reported.
‘Anyone viewing this footage would be shocked and upset at the mistreatment and we are taking these reports very seriously,’ Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce described the footage as disturbing and ‘totally abhorrent’
Animals Australia first reported the incident on June 9 and the department began investigations the next day after receiving preliminary evidence.
The department has met with Vietnamese authorities, who are also investigating the allegations.
One of the bulls in the video collapsed to the ground ‘in absolute terror and anxiety before he’d even been hit once’ after watching his pen mates have their skulls crushed by a sledgehammer, Animals Australia said.
‘I thought I’d seen it all, and I haven’t,’ Animals Australia campaign director Lyn White told ABC.
Further video also showed an Australian bull being ‘butchered’ while still alive at an approved abattoir, the animal rights group claimed.
Horrific footage shows: Australian cattle being bludgeoned to death in Vietnam from Akademi Portal on Vimeo.
‘Regulations are failing, exporters know it, and yet they continue to flood Vietnam with animals.
‘The evidence gathered exposes systemic corruption and circumvention of the traceability system in Vietnam, leaving tens of thousands of animals exposed to horrific cruelty.’
Only two of the 13 abattoirs visited by Animals Australia met requirements, the group said.
Ms White has called on live export regulation to be moved to an independent body.
Pictured: Australian cattle in a Vietnamese slaughterhouse. Australia’s live export with three abattoirs in the country has been suspended following the release of footage showing the mistreatment of animals
Only two of the 13 abattoirs visited by Animals Australia met requirements, Animals Australia said (pictured: Australian cattle in a Vietnamese slaughterhouse)
Shocking video shows Australian cattle being bludgeoned with a SLEDGEHAMMER in Vietnam… but charity is refusing to release the footage because it’s so horrific
Horrific footage taken just moments before an Australian bull was bashed to death with a sledgehammer in a Vietnamese abattoir has emerged, according to an animal rights group.
A picture shows a man with a sledgehammer in his hands stood in front of a bull tied helplessly to a post.
The image comes from a video recorded by Animals Australia investigators in Vietnam. The group has declined to release the footage because it is too ‘shocking and distressing’.
Horrific footage taken just moments before an Australian bull was bashed to death with a sledgehammer in a Vietnamese abattoir has emerged, according to an animal rights group
The animal welfare group is calling for an end to the live cattle trade to the country because cruelty is widespread in the industry, and has lodged an official complaint with the federal government.
Animals Australia spokeswoman Lisa Chalk said Vietnam is currently the second largest export market for Australian cattle, with 178,000 animals exported there in 2014, meaning a change must be made.
‘So grave are our concerns about the welfare of cattle in Vietnam, that we have requested a meeting with representatives of the Australian Live Exporter’s Council,’ Ms Chalk said.
‘The killing of cattle and buffalo through repeated blows to the head with a sledgehammer is the traditional method of slaughter in Vietnam.
Vietnam is currently the second largest export market for Australian cattle, with 178,000 animals exported there in 2014
‘So grave are our concerns about the welfare of cattle in Vietnam, that we have requested a meeting with representatives of the Australian Live Exporter’s Council,’ Animals Australia spokeswoman Lisa Chalk said
‘Vision of these brutal practices being inflicted on Australian cattle in Vietnam was first brought to the attention of the Department of Agriculture in June 2013, after being filmed by a member of the public.
Despite the industry’s admission that they don’t have control over the Vietnam market and that potentially thousands of animals have been subjected to horrific abuse, the government has continued to allow ships full of cattle to leave for Vietnam on a weekly basis.’
Ms Chalk also said Animals Australia has ‘no faith’ in the Department of Agriculture.
A spokesman for Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the Animals Australia complaint would be assessed
However, the federal government said it will not stop the live trade and the department will investigate the claims.
‘The Australian government remains totally committed to the live export trade, and when problems arise we deal with the specific problems – we don’t shut down an entire industry,’ the government spokesman said, according to the Australian Associated Press.
A spokesman for Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the Animals Australia complaint would be assessed to determine if it is related to three previous reports of breaches in Vietnam now subject to formal review.
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