Abattoir boss and three slaughtermen admit causing unnecessary suffering to animals after secret footage of halal killing showed workers HACKING and SAWING at sheep's throats

Three workers and the boss of a halal abattoir have admitted causing unnecessary suffering to sheep as they were being killed following a three-year battle to bring the case to court.

Shocking undercover footage of slaughterhouse brutality at the Bowood Lamb abattoir near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, in December 2014 provoked a public outcry.

The secret filming by Animal Aid showed workers 'hacking and sawing' at animals' throats, as well as sheep being kicked in the head and hurled into metal walls.


All abattoirs must be approved by the Food Standards Agency, but the regulatory body does not check whether halal meat is prepared according to religious rules.

The law requires abattoirs to stun animals before slaughter to prevent unnecessary suffering, but there are exemptions for Jewish and Muslim producers.

Under the halal code, animals are supposed to be killed quickly, with a single sweep of a surgically-sharp knife. They should not see the knife before they are slaughtered, or witness the death of other animals.

But the Animal Aid video revealed how many of those practices were being flouted.

Its secretly installed spy cameras showed staff taunting the animals, waving knives in front of them, smacking them on the head and shouting at them.

The footage led to calls by campaigners for CCTV to be installed in all abattoirs to prevent similar cruelty, and a ban on the practice of killing animals without stunning them first, which is allowed for Jewish and Muslim producers.

Last year the FSA announced CCTV was being made compulsory in all slaughterhouses across England.

On Monday the case against the men got underway at Northallerton Magistrates Court where a four-day trial was due to be held after they pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The men changed their pleas to guilty in some of the charges relating to offences committed between December 1 and 9 2014.

Artur Lewandowski, 33, from Darlington, admitted a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to four sheep by lifting them by their fleeces during the slaughter process.

Kabeer Hussain, 44, of Bradford, admitted one charge of failing to give 24 sheep sufficient time to lose consciousness after they were slaughtered.

Kazeem Hussain, 53, also from Bradford, pleaded guilty to two charges - one of not giving 19 sheep sufficient time to lose consciousness after they were slaughtered and a further charge of failing to cut the throats of six sheep in the required manner with a single cut.

William Woodward, 32, the owner of Bowood Farms Ltd, admitted failing to prevent acts by several employees that caused the animals to suffer.

A similar charge against his father, Robert, 68, was dropped after no evidence was offered by the prosecution.

The case was adjourned for reports and transferred to Leeds Magistrates Court for a hearing on March 2.




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5302119/Abattoir-boss-workers-unnecessary-suffering-sheep.html

What was that about halal killing being more humane?

All slaughter houses should be tightly regulated. An absolute priority should be the least suffering for the poor animals.

HoratioTarr wrote:What was that about halal killing being more humane?

I doubt it's more humane, but in these cases it wasn't even done properly. The meat processing business has an interest in getting these animals down as quickly as possible, because they are a bit more difficult to butcher if they are not dead. Plus, scared, fighting animals release lactic acid which can make the meat less tasty.

Thank God I'm a chick pea fanatic.

HoratioTarr wrote:Thank God I'm a chick pea fanatic.

They make you gassy.  Go easy on those things Stinky.

Bloody horrible. Spiteful and evil men causing more distress to the already scared animals.

Yes HT they say Halal is kinder, where?

Any abattoir, whether regular, kosher or halal is not humane. Sorry but if you eat meat, animals are going to suffer in one way or another. Same with the fishing industry.

Cass wrote:Any abattoir, whether regular, kosher or halal is not humane. Sorry but if you eat meat, animals are going to suffer in one way or another. Same with the fishing industry.

I'm pretty sure cabbages scream in agony when they are yanked from the ground.

Cass wrote:Any abattoir, whether regular, kosher or halal is not humane. Sorry but if you eat meat, animals are going to suffer in one way or another. Same with the fishing industry.

Not true though is it...not when you break down how animal products are used. Unless you are 100 percent vegan and use just about nothing that is mass produced then you're just as culpable as someone who eats meat.

The clothing industry, and the cosmetic industry and just about everything we use or consume holds the risk of animal by products. Next time you eat dessert, consider the gelatine used, or the dairy. Your supermarket carrier bags contain "slip agents" to the friction in the material. What are those made of? Animal fat. Because gelatin is a protein, it's used as a plasma expander for blood in cases of very severe shock and injury.

How about your car? Tyre manufacturers use animal based stearic acid, which helps the rubber hold shape under steady surface friction.

Then there's the furniture you sit on. The best glue and the most widely used is hide glue.

Fabric softener contains Dihydrogenated tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride, which comes from the cattle, sheep and horse industry.

Purified ash from animal bones has been used in filters to refine sugar. Blood plasma has an excellent foaming capacity, and can be used to replace egg whites in the baking industry.

Purified bovine albumin is used in testing for the Rh factor in human beings, and as a stabiliser for vaccines. It is also used in antibiotic sensitivity tests.

Pork skin is similar to human skin, and it's converted into dressings for burns or skin ulcers.

Glycerin, from animals fats, is in soap, shampoo, conditioner, bath products.

The drugs prednisone and cortisone are extracted from animal bile.

Heparin can be extracted from the liver, as well as the lungs and the lining of the small intestines of animals. It's used as an anticoagulant to prolong the clotting time of blood. It is also used to thin the blood, to prevent blood clotting during surgery and in organ transplants.

Progesterone and oestrogen can be extracted from pig ovaries and used to treat reproductive problems in women. Relaxin is a hormone taken from the ovaries of pregnant sows, and is often used during childbirth.

The intestines of sheep and calves are used for the manufacture of catgut, to make internal surgical sutures.

Some insulins are made from cow and pig products.

Duck/goose down in your coats and furniture and bedding. Where do you suppose the keratin comes from in shampoos and skin creams?

Rennet from slaughtered calves stomachs to make cheese.

And last but not least...bone meal. Found in bone china, fertilizers, toothpaste, vitamins.



The list goes on and on.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Cass wrote:Any abattoir, whether regular, kosher or halal is not humane. Sorry but if you eat meat, animals are going to suffer in one way or another. Same with the fishing industry.

Not true though is it...not when you break down how animal products are used.   Unless you are 100 percent vegan and use just about nothing that is mass produced then you're just as culpable as someone who eats meat.

The clothing industry, and the cosmetic industry and just about everything we use or consume holds the risk of animal by products.   Next time you eat dessert, consider the gelatine used, or the dairy.    Your supermarket carrier bags  contain "slip agents" to the friction in the material. What are those made of? Animal fat.   Because gelatin is a protein, it's used as a plasma expander for blood in cases of very severe shock and injury.

How about your car?  Tyre manufacturers use animal based stearic acid, which helps the rubber  hold shape under steady surface friction.

Then there's the furniture you sit on.  The best glue and the most widely used is hide glue.

Fabric softener contains Dihydrogenated tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride, which comes from the cattle, sheep and horse industry.

Purified ash from animal bones has been used in filters to refine sugar.  Blood plasma  has an excellent foaming capacity, and can be used to replace egg whites in the baking industry.

Purified bovine albumin is used in testing for the Rh factor in human beings, and as a stabiliser for vaccines. It is also used in antibiotic sensitivity tests.

Pork skin is similar to human skin, and it's  converted into dressings for burns or skin ulcers.

Glycerin, from animals fats, is in soap, shampoo, conditioner, bath products.

The drugs prednisone and cortisone are extracted from animal bile.

Heparin can be extracted from the liver, as well as the lungs and the lining of the small intestines of animals. It's used as an anticoagulant to prolong the clotting time of blood. It is also used to thin the blood, to prevent blood clotting during surgery and in organ transplants.

Progesterone and oestrogen can be extracted from pig ovaries and used to treat reproductive problems in women. Relaxin is a hormone taken from the ovaries of pregnant sows, and is often used during childbirth.  

The intestines of sheep and calves are used for the manufacture of catgut, to make internal surgical sutures.

Some insulins are made from cow and pig products.  

Duck/goose down in your coats and furniture and bedding.  Where do you suppose the keratin comes from in shampoos and skin creams?

Rennet from slaughtered calves stomachs to make cheese.

And last but not least...bone meal.  Found in bone china, fertilizers, toothpaste, vitamins.  



The list goes on and on.

Yup. I agree.

Maddog wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:
What was that about halal killing being more humane?

I doubt it's more humane, but in these cases it wasn't even done properly.  The meat processing business has an interest in getting these animals down as quickly as possible, because they are a bit more difficult to butcher if they are not dead.  Plus, scared, fighting animals release lactic acid which can make the meat less tasty.  

I have never heard anyone say that halal (or kosher, either..) slaughter and processing is in any way "more humane"...

What I have heard some people say is that halal done properly can be more humane, relatively speaking, than any slaughter that is performed badly and carelessly, with no regard to suffering by the animals. (Trust a couple of the usual English bigots on here to take that line, true to form..).

Butchers and end-consumers of meat from cruel slaughterhouses should be up in arms against the cruel bastards in the industry as well -- as bruised and battered meat, flooded with extra adrenaline and hormones will be degraded beef, as well.

What the meat industry needs is some way to blackban bad farms and bad abbatoirs, both for the welfare of the animals in their final hours, the quality of the meat, and the overall reputation of the industry..