TWO men who were secretly filmed killing ten goats in a shed were given prison sentences yesterday for their part in the "squalid and cruel" slaughter.

The animals, bought for an Islamic halal ceremony, should have died quickly from a single cut to the neck.

But barrister Tony Kelbrick, prosecuting for the RSPCA, told Harrogate Magistrates' Court an injured finger made it difficult for 67-year-old Isap Lakha to dispatch the animals properly, and some were left writhing on the floor of the barn, near Londonderry, North Yorkshire.

Michael Hawkswell, 26, who was to butcher the animals, was also filmed finishing off goats before dressing them for Lakha, who claimed at an earlier court hearing that the meat was for his extended family and not for sale.

Lakha, of Savile Road, Dewsbury - who had pleaded guilty to charges of cruelty and slaughtering animals without a licence last month - was jailed for two months.

Hawkswell, of Hallgarth, Nunwick, near Ripon, North Yorkshire - who last month admitted allowing another to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal and using an unlicensed slaughterhouse - was sent to prison for four months.

Both men were also banned from keeping animals for ten years.

District judge Roy Anderson said: "The public are entitled to and expect animal welfare legislation to be rigorously enforced, and those who breach the regulations to receive appropriate sentences.

"The degrees of distress inflicted on these animals was considerable, and these offences are so serious only a custodial sentence can be passed in each case."

He emphasised that the halal method of slaughter was not on trial, stressing Lakha's sentence was the consequence of him pleading guilty to the offences of cruelty and unlicensed slaughter and nothing more.

After the hearing, the RSPCA's Chief Inspector Mike Butcher said he was grateful to the Hill Animal Sanctuary in East Anglia, which had brought Hawkswell to the attention of the animal welfare organisation.

"We are determined to crack down on those who inflict immense suffering by running makeshift illegal slaughterhouses," said Chief Inspector Butcher.

"They are gruesome places where a great deal of cruelty can take place before the animal is butchered and sold to the meat trade.

"Conditions can be appalling, with the remains of animals stored in filthy containers. In this case, the goats were killed in the most inhumane way without being stunned first.

"The slaughter of farm animals without pre-stunning anywhere other than a licensed abattoir is illegal anywhere in the UK and Europe.

"We would urge anyone who may be buying meat to check that it comes from a reputable source and to report any suspicious activity to us, the local authority or the police."