• Secret footage was allegedly taken on a dairy farm in Bannockburn, Victoria 
• It shows a farmer drive up to a goat pen and pull the male kids from mothers
• The farmer smashes them on head with metal pole and leaves them squirming
• The confronting footage was put online by Animal Liberation Victoria on Friday

This is the disturbing moment a farmer killed male goat kids with a metal pole in front of their mothers because they cannot produce milk.

Secret footage said to be taken on a dairy farm in Bannockburn, Victoria shows a farmer drive up to a goat pen and pull out the male kids.

One by one he smashed them on the head with the pole, leaving them frantically squirming on the ground before they died from traumatic head injuries.

The video shows the farmer putting male goat kids into a blue container before he takes them out and kills them

The video shows the farmer putting male goat kids into a blue container before he takes them out and kills them

After killing around a dozen, the farmer loaded the corpses on to his tractor and drove away.

The confronting two minutes of undercover footage is said to have been taken between mid-September and mid-October this year.

It was posted online by Animal Liberation Victoria on Friday.

The group told Daily Mail Australia they were supplied the footage by anonymous activists who planted cameras on the farm.

‘These newborns males are killed because they will never produce milk, and are therefore considered useless to the dairy industry,’ ALV president Noah Hannibal said in a statement.

‘This brutal slaughter takes place as part of an inherently cruel industry.’

The video captures the farmer hit the goats on the head for the squirm as a result of the trauma

The confronting two minutes of undercover footage (pictured) was taken between mid-September and mid-October

The video captures the farmer hit the goats on the head for the squirm as a result of the trauma

The confronting two minutes of undercover footage (pictured) was taken between mid-September and mid-October

Nothing in the video was illegal because farm animals are not covered by the same animal cruelty laws as domestic pets.

Killing newborn goats is a normal practice across the industry.

Animal welfare guidelines, which are not legally binding, state that goats can be killed using a variety of methods including shooting and blunt force trauma.

‘A single blow should be delivered to the centre of the forehead and should only be used on kids that are less than 24 hours old,’ the guidelines state.

The Victorian Farmers Federation said the footage was confronting.

President David Jochinke told Daily Mail Australia: ‘As an industry, we do not condone the mistreatment of animals. Any producer who falls outside the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, as well as the standards and guidelines of the industry should be investigated and managed appropriately’

He added: ‘It is difficult to comment on the specific details of this circumstance, but we would encourage farmers to stun animals with a captive bolt wherever possible.

‘Any person who has stewardship of an animal should take their responsibilities seriously. I am supportive of Agriculture Victoria undertaking an investigation into this matter should they feel it to be necessary.’

After killing around a dozen, the farmer loaded the corpses on to his tractor and drove away

original article > dailymail.co.uk by Charlie Moore