On the banks of the Murray River, MD Foods slaughters thousands of sheep and goats every week in a purpose built killing factory.
Previously known as Riverside Meats, the slaughterhouse was exposed twice by Animals Australia in 2013 and 2016, with footage showing abuse, poor stunning and suffering of sheep, cows, goats and bobby calves. These investigations led to significant media coverage and the slaughterhouse was forced to install CCTV, before opting to shut down in 2018 amid protests from workers.
Three years later they quietly reopened as MD Foods Australia. Three years after that, we visited to see if much had changed.
They may have a new name, but our cameras captured the same violence and abuse towards animals. From the holding pens to the race, sheep and goats were pulled by their ears and horns, pinned by gates, and roughly thrown through the air by workers.
Upon being restrained, improper stunning and mishandling led to many animals escaping onto the kill floor, being painfully stunned multiple times, and even being killed while fully conscious. Some struggled so violently after having their throats cut that they broke free of the shackle line and were left to thrash on the kill floor as the blood of others washed over them.
The recent footage bears a disturbing resemblance to the cruelty uncovered almost 10 years ago by Animals Australia. All of this abuse was done in clear sight of the same CCTV cameras which were installed to prevent cruelty all those years ago. There is no compassion, remorse, or consequences. These animals are abused at every step along the path towards their painful deaths.
Demand action:
- Contact the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Julie Collins MP
- Contact the Victorian Minister for Agriculture, Ros Spence MP
