Animal cruelty charges against a Westcountry abattoir have been dropped because they carry little chance of a successful prosecution.

Three slaughtermen at Tom Lang abattoir in Ashburton had been told they would go to court, in a case based on footage obtained by welfare charity Animal Aid.

But the Department for the Environment, Food and rural Affairs (Defra) has said there is little chance of conviction, because the case is based on video footage illegally obtained by a trespasser, which is often deemed inadmissible in court.

Jamie Foster, solicitor advocate with Clarke Willmott, which represented the business, said the slaughtermen in question – Gordon Elliot, Nathan Mumford and Michael Northmore – had their licenses reinstated, and were "relieved" the matter had been dealt with "sensibly".

Mr Foster criticised the methods used by Animal Aid, and said it was "entirely unacceptable" to sidestep rules on covert surveillance.

He urged the industry not to "rush to judgement", and said: "When a vegetarian pressure group sends people to break into meat plants at night, the clear agenda is to damage the meat industry."