TWO workers have been dismissed from an abattoir at the centre of animal-abuse allegations.

Warley-based Elmkirk Ltd, formerly known as Cheale Meats, has sacked the pair for breaching its animal-welfare code, following allegations that pigs were punched and burned with cigarettes.

Covert film footage recorded by Animal Aid, allegedly captured at the abattoir in Little Warley Hall Lane, shows two men inflicting deliberate and extreme suffering on pigs.

The animal rights group claim the footage was recorded over a four-day period at the site and shows pigs being hit in the head with bats, incorrectly stunned and dragged by their ears.

Elmkirk Ltd claims it appears "to have been staged for a planted hidden camera". This has been strongly denied by Animal Aid.

The Elmkirk statement says: "This incident and the illegal entry, which breached our biosecurity, has been placed in the hands of the police, who are carrying out an investigation. Threats of violence by animal activists to staff of Elmkirk Ltd, are also being referred to the police."

Animal Aid head of campaigns Kate Fowler admitted trespassing but added: "The idea of staging it is outrageous, desperate and obscene."

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