Over three days in December 2014, animal rights group Animal Aid, filmed covertly inside Bowood Yorkshire Lamb slaughterhouse in Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

The footage apparently shows:

• Sheep kicked in the face; smashed into solid objects headfirst; picked up and hurled by legs, fleeces, throats and ears.
• A worker standing on the neck of a conscious sheep, then bouncing up and down.
• Slaughterhouse workers erupting into laughter at a sheep bleeding to death with spectacles drawn around her eyes in green paint.
• A worker holding a sheep by her throat and pulling back a fist as if to punch her.
• Slaughtermen taunting and frightening the sheep by waving knives, smacking them on the head and shouting at them.
• Slaughtermen hacking away at the throats of still-conscious sheep.

Irrespective of religious beliefs, or none, no living creature should be subjected to the same treatment as the sheep at Bowood Yorkshire Lamb.

Based on limited information, I am undecided as to whether stunning or non-stunning of animals before slaughter is the lesser of the two evils but there is simply no excuse for treating defenceless animals in a cruel and inhumane manner.

Caution: This video contains disturbing images

Bowood Lamb Slaughterhouse, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Video by: Animal Aid