After Indonesia, Bahrain and Pakistan, Israel is the new headache for Australia's live cattle export industry. ABC aired on Tuesday footage taken by Israeli journalist Ronen Bar, which were proof of the brutal and inhume way that Australian cows were slaughtered at the abattoir.

The video showed workers using electric prods to sting the cows in the eyes, genitals and anus. Then the injured animals are dragged on the floor by a rope tied to its leg. The electric shock on the anus aimed to make the animal move, Mr Bar told ABC.

To film the gory manner that the Australian cows were culled, Mr Bar worked undercover for 19 days at Bakar Tnuva, Israel's largest slaughterhouse.

News of the brutal manner the cattle were killed prompted Australia's Department of Agriculture to conduct an investigation. The Israeli government has also initiated a criminal probe, while protesters rallied on the streets of Tel Aviv to call for imprisonment of abattoir managers and for Australia to stop live animal exports.

"In my first day there, the security manager told me you have a probe, you have a stick, you use them to prompt the animals. If a calf doesn't move, shove the electric probe in his ass and he will move," ABC quoted Mr Bar.

He said most of the animals came from Australia based on ear tags and confirmation from co-workers and managers.

The company Adom Adom owns the slaughterhouse and is a major supplier of beef in Israel. The company said besides Australian cattle, it imports live calves from different countries. Adom Adom said in a statement that it also condemns the rude and sadistic behaviour of its workers in culling the animals for its meat.

For 2012, it is estimated that Australia exported 50,000 cattle heads to Israel.

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