The video shows half a dozen workers manhandling live chickens before they are gassed. In the footage, a worker picks up a live chicken, throws it into the air and then uses his hand to slap it across the room. Another throws a live bird onto the concrete floor with sufficient force to leave it maimed. Another worker attempts to drop kick a bird. Secret vision taken inside a chicken farm has revealed animal cruelty. Credit:Animal Liberation "I hate it when their heads come off," one female worker is heard saying. "Yeah it feels good, look," the male worker replies.

Loading "Oh you're cruel," the woman is heard saying another time, to which her male colleague can be heard laughing. "Oh what are you doing pulling its f---ing head off for?" another worker complains. The industry's own guidelines on best-practice on killing hens warns against mistreating animals before their deaths because as "it is well-known that catching and handling live birds can induce fear and cause pain as a result of bruising and broken bones". Coles said it stopped stocking Bridgewater Poultry eggs in March when a product recall was issued after a salmonella outbreak at the farm.

Coles said it officially delisted Bridgewater Poultry as a supplier on May 24 with a spokeswoman saying the retailer was "passionate about responsible sourcing". Woolworths said it also stopped taking eggs from the farm in March this year. "Woolworths takes Animal Welfare incredibly seriously and works with its suppliers to uphold the highest standards. We currently do not source eggs from Bridgewater Poultry farm. We will provide any assistance required as the authorities investigate this matter," Woolworths said in a statement. Trying to get people to go into a quarantined farm is like trying to find gold nuggets in pig shit. Tony Nesci In a statement, Bridgewater Poultry said it was "saddened and deeply appalled by the apparent conduct of employees of a third party accredited contractor shown in the video released by Animal Liberation today... this apparent conduct was not condoned, approved or permitted in any way by the management or staff of Bridgewater Poultry Farm".

Loading The company called on Animal Liberation to "immediately provide the raw, un-edited and un-modified footage to Victoria Police or the Department of Primary Industries so that the individuals engaging in this conduct may be investigated and, if the relevant authorities consider it appropriate, charged". Bridgewater also said it would work with appropriate authorities over coming days to identify shortcomings in the treatment of stock. Bridgewater Poultry is owned by a consortium of farmers, including Victorian Farmers Federation Egg Group president Tony Nesci, who had seen the footage. Mr Nesci said he was not responsible for the workers' treatment of the animals because they were contractors. He said the contractors had been hired because the farm was quarantined over the disease outbreak.

"Trying to get people to go into a quarantined farm is like trying to find gold nuggets in pig shit," he said. "We in the egg industry are at the mercy of only a handful for people who are prepared to do this job. We were fortunate to find somebody who would do the job." Mr Nesci said he was "livid at what's happened" and "horrified" by the footage but "took offence" at any suggestion he was responsible for what he described as the conduct of contractors. When asked to provide the name and contact details of the contractors, Mr Nesci replied: "I don’t know who the contractors were. "I am appalled by what happened but that doesn’t make me responsible," he said. "I don’t need a lecture on how to treat animals, especially from a bloody journalist. "Stop trying to put the blame on us, they were responsible in their actions."

Rosko Osbourne from Animal Liberation NSW, who supplied the video, claimed the way the workers in the footage "blatantly abused" hens represented a broader problem in the egg industry. Bridgewater Poultry, based in Victoria, recalled a range of its products that are sold across the country after a potential salmonella scare. Credit:Food Standards Australia "I believe that this very much represents the standard," he said. "You can see by the way workers very overtly treat these animals in front of their peers that they feel there is nothing to hide or any punishment to come from it." He also hit out at the practice of "depopulation" shown in the footage. Depopulation is the industry-approved method for killing so-called "spent" hens that are no longer laying eggs at their peak rates.