A new Department of Primary Industries' (DPI) study revealed cattle subjected to electric shocks just before slaughter can produce poor quality meat.

But it was something western district butcher Phil Langley had known for years.

"If you keep prodding and belting something for long enough it can't be any good," he told The Standard.

"When an animal is under stress it produces adrenaline and that makes the meat tougher.

"Whenever we kill a beast we do our best to make sure the animal is calm because that is how you get tender meat."

The RSPCA welcomed the study. Association president Hugh Wirth said he had pushed for 15 years to ban electric cattle prodders.

"The problem we have with electric prods is when they are in the hands of stockmen they have a desire to use them over and over again in unnecessary situations," Dr Wirth said. "This causes muscular spasms which diminish the standard of the meat and is also cruel to the animal."

The DPI tested 84 feedlot cattle destined for the domestic market in separate groups. DPI scientist Dr Robyn Warner said the animals were subjected to two preslaughter treatments.

"Some cattle received no electrical prodding at all while the other group received several electric shocks to elicit an acute stress response," she said.

Dr Warner said subjecting cattle to electric prodders just before slaughter resulted in a "significant reduction in consumer acceptability".

"Our consumer taste test panels picked up a reduction in the tenderness, juiciness, overall liking of the meat which came from the electrically prodded.

"Our study shows using very little coercion and no electric prodders can improve consumer satisfaction in beef."

Camperdown livestock auctioneer Clayton Horspole welcomed the DPI's findings. "We never use electric prodders or poly pipe at sales," he said.

"The animals are handled with canes and are handled gently and quietly in a low stress environment. We find any sort of stress is detrimental to the animal."