By Mitchell Clarke
An alleged illegal Kooweerup slaughterhouse – which was the subject of a State Government investigation last year – continues to operate, posing a significant Covid-19 risk to the community.
New footage from the backyard facility, which was first made known to authorities in August 2019, was anonymously provided to the Farm Transparency Project and sent to Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick.
The footage, which was seen by the Gazette, purportedly shows four men failing to social distance or wear PPE and face masks, as cats, rats, dogs and even a young child sauntered through the slaughter shed.
Sheep appear to be killed without being stunned, and the footage indicated that some animals took minutes to die, as they thrashed around and made purposeful body movements.
The leaked footage portrayed a “blatant disregard” for animal welfare, food hygiene and biosecurity, Mr Meddick said.
“Historically, animal cruelty complaints result in little or no action,” he said.
“It sends a clear message that if you want to abuse animals within an agricultural setting, there will be no consequences. This has to change.”
Prominent animal activist Chris Delforce, who is behind the Farm Transparency Project initiative, said the situation was a “complete failure” by Primesafe and Agriculture Victoria.
“It’s been a year since this facility was first reported, and nothing has changed. Animals are still being slaughtered while fully conscious, suffering for minutes before they die, while biosecurity and hygiene issues are rampant,” Mr Delforce said.
“While farm animals are generally not protected from cruelty by law, you would hope that when these facilities go beyond what the law allows they would be held accountable for it.
“Sadly, this is just the latest in a long history of cruelty complaints being ignored or resulting in little or no action, reinforcing the message that if you want to abuse animals for commercial gain there will be no consequences.”
Mr Meddick added it was “deeply concerning” the facility was still operating, and called on the relevant Ministers to “urgently intervene”.
“Allowing a backyard operation with no extra safety protocols or hygiene standards to continue during a crisis like this is irresponsible and alarming,” he said.
“We are living in a time when legally operating slaughterhouses and abattoirs pose a unique threat to the community, being hotspots for the spread of coronavirus.
“It is near impossible to contact-trace alleged illegal activity. If this slaughterhouse was linked to a case of coronavirus, it could have dire consequences on the community.”
An Agriculture Victoria spokesperson said the organisation had received a complaint in relation to the alleged slaughter of livestock on a property in South Gippsland.
In August last year, the organisation told the Gazette they were investigating reports of “unlawful livestock slaughter”.
When asked what eventuated from that first investigation, the spokesperson said: “As the matter is an active investigation it is inappropriate to comment further.”
A PrimeSafe spokesperson said all meat produced for human consumption and sale in Australia was required to come from a licensed abattoir.
“The Victorian Meat Industry Act, 1993 prohibits the slaughter of livestock other than at an abattoir to produce meat for sale and PrimeSafe prosecutes those involved in the illegal slaughter and sale of meat for human consumption,” the spokesperson said.
“The Act does allow for farmers to slaughter their own livestock on their farm for private consumption on that farm. Meat from these animals is not permitted to be sold or to leave the farm.”
Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes was contacted for comment.
