The UK’s Food Standards Agency has revoked the licences of slaughtermen at High Peak Meat Exports, after a video depicting animal abuse was posted on YouTube.

Food officials said the footage, filmed by Hillside Animal Sanctuary, provided sufficient evidence to scrap the licences of the slaughtermen involved. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) also warned it is investigating the footage, with a view to bringing prosecutions.

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Evidence of abuse in the footage includes “excessive use of a stick on a horse”, hitting a horse with a rope and having more than one horse in the so-called stun box at the same time, said FSA.

“I was shocked by the footage and that is why we took immediate action to make sure the individuals involved could not continue to slaughter animals,” said Craig Kirby, head of approvals and veterinary advice at FSA.

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