Stef Costello Spode@StefSpodeUK
🚨 ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST JOEY CARBSTRONG ARRESTED IN 4AM RAID AFTER EXPOSING KOSHER CRUELTY
Animal rights activist Joey Carbstrong has reportedly been arrested following an early morning police raid after a week of escalating protests outside the Greater Manchester slaughterhouse at the centre of his latest undercover exposé.
Campaigners claim officers arrived at the activist’s home around 4am on Friday morning before arresting Carbstrong and seizing electronic devices. The arrest comes shortly after the release of graphic undercover footage filmed inside Hartshead Meats in Moseley, Greater Manchester, a slaughterhouse accused of carrying out secret non-stun kosher slaughter alongside what activists describe as repeated and serious animal welfare breaches.
The footage, which has spread rapidly online, triggered peaceful protests outside the facility throughout the week, with demonstrators gathering daily demanding the site be shut down and investigated. On Thursday, another protester was arrested outside the slaughterhouse during a demonstration.
Carbstrong’s investigation alleged that cattle inside the facility were subjected to repeated electric prodding, visible distress in race lines and prolonged suffering after their throats were cut. One particularly harrowing sequence appeared to show a cow having their head removed while still displaying clear signs of life. Other clips show cows being suspended and having their limbs cut off whilst still appearing to be alive.
Hartshead Meats has become the focus of mounting public anger since the footage emerged, with critics questioning how practices shown in the investigation could allegedly take place inside a licensed British slaughterhouse operating under official oversight.
The investigation has also reignited controversy around Britain’s religious slaughter exemptions.
Under UK law, non-stun slaughter for religious purposes remains legal under exemption, though slaughterhouses are still required to minimise suffering and comply with animal welfare regulations throughout the process.
Campaigners gathered outside the site throughout the week carrying signs, filming lorries entering the premises and demanding intervention from regulators. Videos shared online showed a growing police presence outside the slaughterhouse as tensions escalated. In the days following the release of the footage a river of blood could be seen running down the road outside the facility after an underground pipe appeared to burst.
At the time of writing, police have not publicly confirmed the exact nature of the allegations relating to Carbstrong’s arrest. Hartshead Meats have not publicly responded to the allegations made.
The arrest is likely to intensify scrutiny around both the protests and the slaughterhouse itself, with supporters arguing attention is now being directed at the man who exposed the footage rather than the welfare concerns raised inside the facility.