PROTESTORS gathered outside a slaughterhouse at the centre of allegations of animal cruelty today, to vent their anger and disgust.
About 50 people from surrounding villages gathered outside Bowood Yorkshire Lamb abattoir at Busby Stoop, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, for a lunchtime protest.
Some protestors even came from as far away as Lancashire.
Shouts of “scum” and “low life” were directed at the company building and one woman shouted: “What would James Herriot think of this?”
Workers left the building to reach cars and other vehicles in the compound covered their faces and their car registration plates were covered over.
Protestors ranged from people who described themselves as animal activists to local residents who say they had felt deeply disturbed by the footage recorded and released by the animal rights group Animal Aid and wanted to make their feelings known.
LOW PROFILE: A member of staff at the abattoir shields himself from view of the protestors. Picture: RICHARD DOUGHTY PHOTOGRAPHY
WATCHFUL: A police presence was maintained at today's protest. Picture: RICHARD DOUGHTY PHOTOGRAPHY
One resident from nearby Sowerby, who didn’t wish to be named, said: “I came from work because I just felt so helpless after hearing about it. It’s just so upsetting. The photograph of the sheep’s face just kept me awake.
“I still can’t bring myself to watch the video. I think that’s like a lot of us. I can’t believe people can be so cruel. The point of halal is it’s supposed to not be a traumatic death and people who want halal from here for that reason, haven’t got that.”
The footage recorded inside the halal slaughterhouse showed a worker hacking and sawing at animals’ throats, in contravention of Islamic practice, as well as sheep being kicked in the face and head and hurled into metal walls and taunted and frightened by workers at Bowood Yorkshire Lamb abattoir.
Footage from hidden cameras show animals in distress and suffering at the slaughterhouse and has been condemned by the Muslim Council of Britain as going against the very principles of halal slaughter.
Another protester, Stephen Mallion, had driven over from Lancaster for the protest.
He said: "It’s the first type of protest like this I’ve ever been to.
“I just saw it in the papers and it got my back up. It’s very cruel.”
The group gathered outside the compound of Bowood Yorkshire Lamb, where there was a small police presence.
The protest was organised by Thirsk businessman Tarek Ghouri.
He said: “We’ve had messages of support from Cambridge, London, Edinburgh; all wishing they could be here.”
He added: “People have come from Durham and across the region today. I think everyone looking at the footage was outraged by the sheer brutality.”
He said the purpose of the protest was to reflect the strength of feeling over the treatment of animals witnessed on the Animal Aid footage and to urge the Food Standards Agency to shut down the abattoir pending an investigation. The protest was also supporting calls on the Government to enforce the use of monitored CCTV in slaughterhouses.
The Northern Echo is attempting to obtain a comment from Bowood Yorkshire Lamb.
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