Kabeer Hussain, 44, arrives at Leeds Magistrates Court after being sentenced for his part in the distress caused to sheep at a slaughterhouse

Cruel halal slaughtermen chanted and performed a dance as they hacked at the throats of sheep.

The still conscious animals were strung up alive as they bled out at the abattoir, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, a court heard.

Kabeer Hussain, 44, and Kazam Hussein, 55, were filmed taunting animals, waving knives in front of them and shouting at them.

Some sheep could be seen slipping and staggering away from the duo as blood poured from their necks. The shocking undercover footage of workers ‘hacking and sawing’ at animals’ throats, filmed inside Bowood Farms abattoir by the charity Animal Aid, provoked a public outcry. This week legislation, expected to come into force in May, was put before the Commons that will force all abattoirs to install CCTV.

Hussain and Hussein received suspended prison sentences yesterday at Leeds Magistrates’ Court for causing unnecessary suffering to animals.

Prosecutor Howard Shaw said abattoir boss William Woodward ‘simply turned a blind eye to the animals’ welfare at his slaughterhouse’.

All abattoirs must be approved by the Food Standards Agency, but the regulatory body does not check whether halal meat is prepared according to religious rules.

Many certify themselves as adhering to halal standards, which state that animals must be killed with a single sweep of a surgically-sharp knife while a Muslim recites a prayer.

Kabeer Hussain (left) and Kazam Hussein (right) were filmed taunting animals, waving knives in front of them and shouting at them

The sheep must be humanely restrained and not moved for 20 seconds giving them time to lose consciousness. But footage showed sheep being hacked at multiple times before being strung up by their hind legs.

Woodward, from Daventry, Northamptonshire, was sentenced to 20 weeks in jail.

Hussain, of Bradford, admitted causing suffering and was sentenced to 16 weeks in jail, suspended for a year.

Hussein, also of Bradford, admitted causing unnecessary suffering and was sentenced to 18 weeks suspended for a year.