Australian cattle and sheep have been filmed being brutally slaughtered in an Australian-approved abattoir in Israel.

The hidden camera footage, obtained in an investigation by animal rights group Animals Australia, shows cattle having their tails deliberately crushed, attempting to regain their feet after having their throats sawn and being hoisted upside down while fully conscious.

An image supplied by Animals Australia from inside an Israeli abattoir.

The organisation said closed circuit television cameras which could be accessed remotely by the Australian Department of Agriculture should be made mandatory in all Australian-accredited slaughterhouses.

Animals Australia chief investigator Lyn White said this remote access to CCTV vision was necessary because the presence of CCTV cameras in the Dabbah abattoir, located in the town of Deir Al Asad, had not deterred workers from mistreating the animals. Two Australian exporters - Livestock Shipping Services and Otway Exports - ship animals to Israel.