Published 13/12/2013

Compassion in World Farming is shocked by footage released by Animals Australia which shows exported Australian cattle brutally slaughtered in Gaza.

The footage shows Australian cattle being roughly dragged off trucks and man handled to slaughter locations where they are tethered to poles or trees, their legs bound.

Blunt knives are used to hack and slash repeatedly at their throats. The cattle bellow in agony and struggle but after this prolonged torture they eventually die.

Peter Stevenson, Compassion in World Farming’s Chief Policy Advisor, says:

I have worked in this field for over 20 years and have never witnessed slaughter practices as cruel and vicious as those inflicted on Australian cattle in Gaza. Compassion in World Farming calls on Australia to now end its ruthless live export trade.

Australia’s Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) requires animals to be kept within approved supply chains that meet base level international welfare standards. The latest footage from Gaza shows that this scheme is unable to protect Australian animals from extreme suffering.

Compassion in World Farming congratulates Animals Australia on its tenacity and courage in exposing the brutal treatment suffered by Australian animals in Gaza and elsewhere. We fully support their call for an end to live exports.

For more information you can read this report by The Guardian or visit Animals Australia webpage.