'Abhorrent' welfare report shows sick livestock sent to slaughter

The document, tabled to the Senate at the request of the Greens, outlined welfare reports involving 4083 animals at abattoirs in 2020 and 2021, which represents 0.0058 per cent of 70.6 million animals processed.

Some of the instances included cows calving in pens while waiting to be slaughtered, cattle with cancer in their eyes, and animals sent to abattoirs with injuries or deformities.

Cattle Council president Lloyd Hick said some of the reports depicted "extremely disturbing" animal abuse.

"Any person who abuses an animal has no place in the livestock industry," Mr Hick said.

"These cases need to be investigated and those responsible must face the full force of the law."

Mr Hick condemned producers who ignored the "is the animal fit to load" guidelines and sent sick animals to the abattoirs.

"While we will need some time to work through the reports, it is clear that some cattle producers have done the wrong thing," he said.

"There is no excuse for putting sick or injured cattle on a truck, and those responsible should be held to account."

Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC) Independent Chair John McKillop described some of the incidents as "completely abhorrent and unacceptable", which had "no place in our industry, nor do the people responsible".

"While the vast majority of industry participants are doing the right thing, this report highlights that there is still significant room for improvement in certain areas of the supply chain," Mr McKillop said.

"We will not defend poor animal welfare practices or outcomes and Australia's strict legislation governing animal welfare are the minimum expectations of our industry and must be upheld."

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Greens Senator and the party's deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, who called for the documents to be tabled, said cruelty could not be allowed to remain "part of the cost of doing business".

She reiterated her call for the federal government to establish an independent office of animal welfare to enforce stronger animal welfare laws.

"The industrial scale of animal slaughter in Australia cannot be used to minimise the gravity of these incidents," Senator Faruqi said.

"It's sickening to see the avoidable suffering of thousands of animals. It will take time to digest these documents in full, but their release is an important step in shining a light on cruelty in the meat industry."

Both Cattle Council and RMAC said the document showed the welfare reporting system was working, but there was clearly room for further improvements.

Cattle Council said it was already investigating the development of smartphone apps for rapid identification and reporting of animal welfare concerns.