Cruelty, biohazard concerns raised over backyard slaughterhouse

A backyard slaughterhouse operating on the outskirts of Melbourne has sparked fears of cruel practices and potential COVID-19 outbreaks after undercover footage surfaced of sheep being butchered inside a garage.

In part of the footage, four people and animals, including rats and kittens, can be seen coming and going from the makeshift slaughterhouse floor as one sheep appears to take more than five minutes to die, thrashing its tethered legs as it lay on its back in a metal cradle without first being stunned.

The animal's head hangs over a plastic bucket, then the carcass is hung from the ceiling and butchered as a young child runs past.

The property at Koo Wee Rup, 63 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, was the subject of complaints to the agricultural department in July last year but animal welfare advocates say it has continued to operate.