Video shows cow shot multiple times at WA's Boyanup Saleyards

Australia Broadcast Center

16-06-2025

Video of a cow being shot multiple times has put further scrutiny on animal welfare standards at a controversial saleyard in Western Australia's South West.
Filmed from about 100 metres away on a mobile phone near Boyanup, 185 kilometres south of Perth, the video shows a cow at the town's saleyards lying on the ground being shot three times by an unidentified figure.
Appearing to be shaken and in distress, the cow gets to its feet before a further two gunshots can be heard, before the animal falls to the ground.
Greg Jones, who previously worked at the saleyards, was sitting in his kitchen in February when he heard the gunshots and filmed the incident.
The Boyanup saleyards have been subject of controversy and criticism for decades.
The livestock facility is run by the Western Australian Livestock Salesmen's Association (WALSA), which recently missed a deadline for critical animal welfare upgrades at the site.
Some farmers have described the facilities as an "embarrassment" and the "worst saleyards" in Australia.
Veterinarian David Marshall, who has practised more than 30 years, reviewed the video provided to the ABC.
Dr Marshall said it was difficult to get the full picture of the incident but conceded there were "concerning elements".
"Even at face value, it probably doesn't meet the community expectations," he said.
Mr Jones reported the incident to the RSPCA and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
A DPIRD spokesperson said the matter was investigated, but there was not enough evidence to take it further.
"The matter was investigated by DPIRD livestock compliance inspectors, who found the evidence obtained was not sufficient to support a criminal prosecution," the spokesperson said.
In response to this latest incident, WALSA said the cow was euthanised within welfare guidelines.
"The cow was euthanised using a destruction method to provide the most humane and quickest death possible for the animal and ensure the safety of those involved," chair Mark McKay said.
"[WALSA] is required to comply with occupational health and safety laws and animal welfare standards and guidelines.
"These requirements were followed."
Mr Jones said that was not good enough.
"If this is the quality of the people they have doing it. I think WALSA and yard management need to have a really good look at themselves," he said.
Mr Jones has a bitter history with the operator, following the termination of his employment as a maintenance worker in 2023.
Mr Jones previously filed another complaint about the saleyard dumping effluent in nearby bushland.
"I was the one who originally dobbed them in," he said.
In 2021, Dr Marshall sat on a public review panel of WA's aging animal welfare laws.
He said the incident was a reminder of the need to improve WA's animal welfare standards across the board.
"We need to be spending a lot more resources on improving animal welfare. We certainly did make recommendations around resourcing and education," Dr Marshall said.
"Probably the thing that disappoints me as much as anything is that we still don't have that groundswell to some extent of public feeling to put pressure on our politicians to do more."
The state government is yet to modernise state laws in the wake of the review of the Animal Welfare Act, despite agreeing to in 2020.
The DPIRD spokesperson said it was "progressing" the bill to update the act and would continue to monitor animal welfare at the saleyard.
The state government said that while the Boyanup Saleyards was a private business, it was committed to taking animal welfare seriously.