Shocking Mistreatment of Animals in Overseas Slaughter Houses - What have we Become?

Hi All,

I wasnt quite sure whether to post this or not and in which forum to place this thread but it seemed to be most relevant to this particular forum.

Now to begin i want to add for the record that i am not a vegetarian and i do eat meat, that is not the issue i am making in this thread. The issue is however about the mistreatment of live cattle exports to smaller countries and their slaughter houses.

This issue has caused the Australian Government to recently suspend live exports to Indonesia.


In the past i worked in a beef abattoir for a short time in-between jobs and to be honest it wasn't the most pleasant place to work and it actually put me off eating beef for about a month or two. However in regard to the actual killing of the beast or cattle it was very humane and done very quickly making sure the animal did not experiance suffering or torture. However in Indonesia and many other countries that are majority Muslim, they have different rules when it comes to killing animals and in most cases the throat must be cut.

This is not about Islamic tradition but about a minority of slaughter houses that must comply with certain rules and traditions in regard to Islam and Halal meat that do not comply with standard animal rights regulations.

To the main topic - rather than go on i will provide some video of the footage captured by animal rights groups in Indonesia and the suffering some of the cattle had to endure -

Be warned the below footage contains graphic and disturbing footage

Government to suspend live cattle exports

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f080d1efbd1e.jpg[/atsimg]

Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig has confirmed that Australia is suspending live exports to Indonesia until safeguards are adopted to stop the brutal slaughter of animals.

Senator Ludwig says the ban could be in place for up to six months and will apply until the welfare of cattle sent to Indonesia can be guaranteed.

"I want to work with both the industry, the Indonesian government and through my department to ensure that we can do this as quickly as possible. The suspension is there for up to six months to allow for time for this to occur," he told AM this morning.

Full Story ABC Australia


ABC Four Corners Documentary - Live Cattle Exports (Graphic Footage)

The question i want to ask is this;


Is banning the live exports on an umbrella basis really what the cattle industry needs or should the government have spent more time and money investigating the abbotoirs that were upto standard compared to those that werent?

The upside so far is that we know the cattle will no longer be subjected to this inhumane treatment but at the same time the Australia farmers are suffering immensly and losing alot of money. Not all of the Indonesian Abbotoirs were treating cattle this way.



I have to say though the footage i saw on the Four Corners doco really affected me and made feel so sad for the cattle that were being treated this way

Was at the Adelaide protest today... great turnout! Myself and EVERYONE I know is sickened by these images brought to us by a very brave ex-police woman from South Australia. She is just a legend and so brave. There is no ban as yet - just a 6 month suspension. We plan on having a total ban passed soon and wont stop until we achieve this. All he farmers are carrying on that will hurt their pocket (money thing again) but there are other ways. New Zealand banned live trade in 2007 and it is time the whole world did too. The images give you nightmares so be warned... but deny ignorance and become educated by watching. Thanks op for bringing this to the attention of others who are unaware.

It's disgusting how they're treated.

The argument for live exports are to appease Muslim traditions of halal butchering.

What they're doing in Indonesia is not halal.

The other side of the coin is that banning exports will destroy the Australian beef industry.

Australia can't force Indonesia to kill the animals humanely and I don't understand why these Indonesian 'butchers' are not killing the animals as stated in the Qur'an.

It's a messed up situation, that's for sure.

reply to post by Australiana


Dont get me wrong i am happy with the suspension to a certain extent, but alot of works needs to be done into which particular abbotoirs have to be banned and which pass guide lines and fast because our farmers are losing alot of money.

The last this i want to see is our cattle and animals being treated in such disgusting ways but the government needs to move fast on this issue because it will affect our economy and drive up our beef prices.

It's great you were at a rally in support of this, after i saw that footage on Four Corners it disgusted me!

reply to post by Chadwickus


Yes very true and while i dont care about eating Halal as that is not my religion i do emphathise and understand it.
However just because the cattle has to be slaughtered in a certain way it does not mean the current mistreatment has to continue, there are alternatives in some ways.

Apart from using a bullet (non-halal way of killing cattle for the most part) the cow can be slaughtered after an elctro-shock or stun to knock the cow out and still have it's throat cut and it does not go against Muslim tradition or ''law''.

Soem of the footage was so sad that i could not beleive the cattle had to endure such torment!

You do want to treat animals humanly just before you murder them, sounds reasonable

There was one other piece of footage that i could not find online that was free to share that really stuck with me and it was towards the last 10 minutes of the Four Corners doco.


It showed how in a particular abbotoir they had all the cattle lined up and one by one they were slaughtered, now the point was that all the cattle lined up could see the other cattle being slaughtered

On the footage it got down to the last cow in the line and it was standing still and just shaking and trembling in what looked like absoulute fear because it had watched 6-7 cows before it slaugheted skinned and taken apart.

It almost brang tears to my eyes watching that footage.

reply to post by illuminatiOpress


I understand we eat the animals, look i get that and i am not a vego or anything but the way these animals were treated was appauling!

As stated for a fact today at the protests, it is better for the cow to be killed here and shipped there frozen (as we have been doing so to Egypt for years). New Zealand has done this now since 2007 and have a booming trade on their frozen meat so IT WILL NOT affect the meat industry - that is just an empty threat. Even if it did effect the meat industry here... who cares? I mean seriously, what is the REAL price of profit???

If the beef industry lost their jobs then so be it as they should have investigated where their cattle was going a long time ago before us public had to take care of matters yet again. Just like industries in the past that have since ceased, for instance, my dad was a ship wright and that industry ended (he lost his job). Mitsubishi automobile plant closed in Adelaide leaving thousands unemployed and not to mention when the Holden plant closed its doors. Industries end and life goes on. I will never stick up for a farmer on this matter.

reply to post by Havick007


Halal is more than slitting the throat, the cow is meant to be calm, given a drink of water and not killed in front of other cows.

This isn't happening and I don't understand why there isn't more outcry about this from the Indonesian Muslim community, they want them live as per the Qur'an but won't slaughter them as per the Qur'an. Hypocrites.

reply to post by Chadwickus


Yeah and also it has something to do with while killing the animal not piercing the head or brain i think??

I didnt realise the animal had to be calm etc, although as i said i am not Muslim. Either way it isnt about the Muslim tradition it is about how only a certain number of these abbotoirs are treating the animals before death and it could be classed as torture.

They aren't treated much better here. if you want another horror, watch a youtube video on shark finning. They slice them off and throw the sharks back in the water to sink and suffocate.


People need to buy local, and from reputable farmers.And pay a little more to have torture free meat.

reply to post by Chadwickus

Yes you are spot on - hypocrites! I try to be politically correct but I am nearing my tolerance level I am sad to say. They should stand up for their "religion" and not only use their beliefs when it suits them!

all factory slaughter is an abomination across the globe . here is linkMary Nashe's Horsemeat website

The video is utterly appalling and it is of US horse slaughter, one the primary reasons horse slaughter was closed in this country, good to see and have as a reference is case someone wants to tell you that US slaughter houses are clean and humane , truth is there are no clean humane slaughter factories anywhere on this planet

I had to scroll past the images as quick as I could to read the thread comments, I cannot bear to see images of barbaric torture and slow death of other living creatures. Images like I would imagine these in the OP show, would make me emotionally and physically ill, and haunt me forever

They are probably worse than I imagine judging by the comments.

This thread reminds me of an incident with sled dogs that were culled by a hotel staff member, who was subsequently severely traumatised at the dogs' reactions and is under a doctor. He described herding, shooting and stabbing the beautiful dogs on orders of his boss. He killed them one at a time in front of the others, and said the noises the other dogs were making were awful and he had never heard dogs make that noise before. He said they could see their friends being led away one by one, shot or stabbed, and they knew they were next. Upset me so much I felt ill

I think there is something severely mentally lacking in a person who is capable of inflicting such horrendous torture on another living creature, there is something really wrong with them IMO.

Either that or they are totally soul-less.

I could never be friends with such a 'person' either. Not ever.

reply to post by doobydoll


We.. Said!

I agree 100%




Posted on - ATS Mobile -

Indonesia and the great challenge of natural disasters

Indonesia has become a land of tragedy. Just after the flood tragedy in Wasior, West Papua, an earthquake-triggered tsunami hit Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra. While we were still shocked by those disasters, Mount Merapi erupted. Hundreds of people have been killed in the recent calamities. Natural disasters have become a great challenge for Indonesians. There are two impacts of disasters: Economically and psychologically. In terms of Indonesia’s economy, natural catastrophes damage property and stop economic activity, which consequently result in significant financial loss for the people. Furthermore, the series of natural disasters create more burden on the national budget to finance post-disaster rehabilitation.
www.thejakartapost.com...

And they deserve every minute of the misery, the cost, the terror of these natural disasters after what I just saw on the 'Bill' video.

I will never spare another moment of empathy for people who can raise their children with such a lack of morality and respect for nature and living beings.

WOW..AND HUMAN MURDER AND SLAVERY IS LESS IMPORTANT HUH?

Originally posted by ILLUMINATIOPRESS3
WOW..AND HUMAN MURDER AND SLAVERY IS LESS IMPORTANT HUH?

Until people figure out that these cruelties are all the same and come from the same source- these problems will never be fixed. Most serial murderers get their start by torturing animals.

I beleive most of all the industries that deal with animals in any capacity do so in an inuhmane, cold, bottom line-feeding manner. The only businesses I am not skeptical of is the small business (not all of em, just saying that the smaller business model is less likely to be as inhumane and unethical). There are plenty of videos showing proof of malicious indignation to sentient animals in EVERY industry.

I'm sure many of us on ATS have seen Food Inc. That was a real eye opener. And for the not so squeamish.. Earthling, narrated by non other than Joaquinn Phoenix. Within the last year or so my views have shifted more an more to care about animals and less for humans.

So many argue that survival of the fittest bla bla bla. Ok Then go in the Amazon without your guns and lasers for one night lol. Nature CAN be cruel, but it's always natural, not malicious intent to save a bloody buck.