The federal government has blamed ineffective stunning at an Israeli abattoir amid allegations Australian cattle were slaughtered with "wanton cruelty".
Hidden camera footage shot by Animals Australia in the Dabbah family abattoir in Deir al Asad, shows cattle having their tails crushed and being hoisted by one leg while still conscious, before having their throats sawn.
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said exports to the abattoir have been suspended since May 27 when his department first became aware of the complaint by the animal activist group, which argues the practices are in breach of domestic and international standards.
He credited the quick response to Australia's "trip wire" animal welfare live export regulation system, known as ESCAS, under which the Israeli abattoir was accredited.
The minister blamed improper stunning processes for the cruelty.
"It is not that they didn't try to stun the animals, it was ineffective and that's why the animals became part conscious, and that's why we have what I believe is a very distressing view," he told ABC TV on Tuesday.
The abattoir was trying to do the right thing now, sacking a number of workers and agreeing to install new equipment and CCTV cameras, he added.
One of the facility's Australian suppliers, Otway Livestock Exports, has sent its managing director and general livestock manager to the abattoir where they have been in charge of the plant's processing for the past three days.
The company acknowledged the footage and its own investigation revealed a breakdown in management oversight at the abattoir and is sending reports about handling of Australian cattle at the abattoir to the agriculture department.
But the RSPCA says it's not good enough for the government to keep blaming poor facilities for yet another revelation of animal cruelty, only weeks after images of cattle being slaughtered with sledgehammers in Vietnam were exposed.
The RSPCA believes the public is "sick and tired" of being told that everything was under control.
"It's clearly not," chief scientist Dr Bidda Jones said.
"This is a system failure of the greatest proportions."
Animals Australia says kosher slaughtering methods used in Israel already put cattle under extreme stress, involving being tipped upside down and having their throats cut while conscious.
"To then have workers subjecting clearly conscious and distressed animals to such wanton cruelty is simply appalling," chief investigator Lyn White said.
