Red Tractor has terminated a dairy farm from its assurance scheme after BBC Panorama showed systematic disregard for animal welfare on the farm.
The programme, which aired on Monday night (14 February), detailed numerous cases of animal abuse on the Welsh dairy farm.
The undercover footage leaked horrific scenes showing cows being repeatedly punched and kicked by farm workers.
Following the programme, Red Tractor said it had terminated the farm’s dairy scheme membership with 'immediate effect'.
The programme showed "serious breaches of Red Tractor standards and the law", it said, as well as a "systematic disregard for animal welfare by those with a duty of care."
Red Tractor assures over 11,000 dairy farms, which are required to meet robust standards on animal welfare, environmental protection and food safety.
Three other dairy farms were featured in Panorama’s programme, each was Red Tractor assured and represented good farming practices.
A Red Tractor spokesperson said the "unacceptable actions of staff on one farm in no way represents the vast majority of UK dairy farmers or British agricultural practice."
"Red Tractor’s system of routine farm inspections and unannounced spot checks go a long way to ensuring compliance with our standards," the spokesperson added.
"Where there is a clear violation of our membership rules and our standards are not upheld, a farm will be terminated from our scheme.
"We accept that some breaches are not always detectable during inspections, which is why we have a number of ways for individuals to share their concerns with us, including our confidential ‘Tell Us’ reporting service."
