Former Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce is calling out an animal rights group over alleged payments to whistleblowers.

Workers on live export ships were reportedly offered thousands of dollars to provide footage of animal abuse.

It’s believed some offered to cut off ventilation to sheep to make them look more distressed.

In emails obtained by News Corp, Animals Australia stressed they should not do anything to deliberately cause suffering.

But Mr Joyce tells John Stanley the payments were an obvious incentive for workers to abuse animals.

“These people got paid for showing distressed animals.

“Of course they’re going to do whatever they can to make the animals look as distressed as possible.”

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