Disturbing images uploaded to social media by the group Animal Liberation Malta show cows and goats living in less than ideal conditions in overcrowded spaces and locked in rooms with no natural light.

One photo depicted a cow with its back legs tied after its pelvis had been damaged. It had given birth far too many times and needed her hind legs to be tied or else she would not be able to walk, the animal rights' group claimed.

Another photo showed another cow with its placenta hanging out after giving birth.

Calves which "had been taken from their mother" were living in a dark dingy room waiting for a farmer to slaughter them, the group said.