Department of Agriculture to probe Ralphs Meats Co, Seymour, over allegations inhumane treatment of cattle

Authorities are probing a Seymour slaughterhouse after shocking footage allegedly revealed cows being killed while still conscious. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

Screenshots from footage allegedly recorded by Farm Transparency Project activists at Ralphs Meat Co in Seymour.

An investigation has been launched into a Seymour slaughterhouse after footage revealed workers allegedly acting “cruelly” towards cattle.

Cameras illegally installed by activists at Ralphs Meat Co in February show the animals having their throats slit while still conscious.

Footage also reveals cattle being jabbed with electric prodders and being repeatedly hit with metal gates.

Farm Transparency Project activists made a formal complaint to Victoria’s slaughterhouse regulator Primesafe after they viewed the footage.

The five-page complaint lists issues such as “ineffective stunning” and workers “repeatedly swinging gates into frightened cows to attempt to herd them into the race”.

Screenshots from footage allegedly recorded by Farm Transparency Project activists at Ralphs Meat Co in Seymour

It accuses the staff of “aggressively” using electric prodders and cattle “continuing to blink and attempt to move after their throats have been cut and while they bleed out”.

Primesafe and the federal Department of Agriculture — responsible for export-accredited slaughterhouses — have launched an investigation.

Farm Transparency Project director Harley McDonald-Eckersall said the footage was just an example of the pain and suffering animals routinely experienced in Australian slaughterhouses.

A “kill agenda” from Ralphs Meat Company. Picture: Supplied

“First off, we’re seeing cows sent to slaughter in incredibly poor physical health,” she said.

“Many of them are ex-dairy cows, sent to slaughter because they can’t produce the same amount of milk anymore.

“You can see that they are emaciated, with swollen, painful udders that almost touch the ground.

“Then, we see that the actual process of slaughter is not the quick, painless death that consumers are led to believe is the reality in Australian slaughterhouses.

“Instead, these gentle animals suffer for minutes, many remaining conscious even after their throats have been cut.”

According to the slaughterhouse’s website, more than 150 people are employed at the plant and about 500 head of cattle are processed each day.

It trades out of the South Melbourne market and has been running since 1908, with the Seymour plant in operation since 1998.

It comes after the Farm Transparency Project led a protest last month at a Carag Carag piggery demanding the release of Olivia the sow, who was allegedly raped by worker Bradley O’Reilly.

Ralphs Meat Co have been contacted for comment.