Two slaughtermen responsible for the “extreme” suffering of sheep were seen dancing and singing as they killed the animals, a court heard.
Four people connected with the former Bowood Abattoir, at Busby Stoop, near Thirsk received suspended prison sentences at Leeds Magistrates Court on Friday for causing suffering to sheep as they were killed.
The charity Animal Aid had obtained covert footage of halal slaughtering at the abattoir in December 2014, which was passed on to the Food Standards Agency.
Howard Shaw, prosecuting for the CPS on behalf of Defra, told the court it revealed, “a large number of sheep were caused to suffer unnecessarily”.