Secretly taped footage from a sheep station in South Australia's north shows shearers kicking and throwing sheep, an animal rights group says.
The footage has been released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which says it was taken at a Coober Pedy property in September.
PETA has urged the RSPCA to take action over the video that it says also shows one lamb left to die after being thrown to the ground.
"There doesn't seem to be any progress in this industry. It seems to be endemic," spokesman Desmond Bellamy told AAP.
"The faster they work, the more they get paid. So obviously they get frustrated when the animals, clearly in pain, start to struggle and then they start throwing them around."
The Australian Woolgrowers Association said it condemned violence against animals but the video misrepresented the reality of sheep shearing.
"Sheep shearers are very professional in this day and age," chairman Robert McBride said.
"Animal husbandry in the woolshed is exceptionally high."
Wool industry research and development group Australian Wool Innovation said it had invested $2.8 million into training more than 4000 shearers in the world's best animal welfare practice over the past year.
"AWI categorically and unequivocally condemns the mistreatment of animals and supports the use of the legal system to prosecute any criminal behaviour," it said in a statement.
RSPCA SA is investigating the footage, along with photographs and witness statements.
The maximum penalty for the aggravated ill treatment of animals is a $50,000 fine or four years imprisonment.
The Australian Workers Union, which was shown the video, said it was inappropriate to comment at this stage because it was unclear whether the shearers involved were union members.
