Dead piglets have been displayed at the doorstep of Premier Jacinta Allan’s office as part of an animal welfare protest against conditions in Victorian slaughterhouses.

Dozens of protesters stood outside Treasury Place behind the 20 dead animals, which were laid out on a white sheet surrounded by flowers.

Farm Transparency Project executive director Chris Delforce said the baby pigs symbolised the premier’s “inaction and her cowardice” with respect to the animal welfare “emergency”.

“Last month, the Victorian government officially responded to the parliamentary inquiry into pig welfare, which recommended an end to some of the most barbaric practices still used in the majority of Victorian piggeries,” Delforce said.

“The Allan government opted to ignore the overwhelming evidence presented to it that this is an industry that is rotten to its core, utterly dependent on abuse and secrecy, and beyond redemption; an industry that must be urgently phased out.”

The Allan government said it welcomed the findings of the inquiry and supported 16 of its 18 recommendations. It did not support the recommendation to establish an independent body to ensure compliance of animal protection laws, nor to mandate reporting of artificial insemination.

The dead animals put outside Allan’s office were sourced from 20 piggeries “covertly” visited by the animal welfare group over the weekend, where they claimed to have filmed “shocking, filthy and cruel conditions”.

The vegan activists claimed the piglets exhibited had died from “malnutrition, illness or scavenging, or killed by workers due to being too small or weak to be worth feeding”.

“What is happening to these animals is so far from what Victorians believe is going on [and] what people want in a country that cares about animal welfare,” Delforce said.

“The time for minor welfare improvements has passed, this is an industry that is rotten to its core, it needs to be shut down.

“We need to get farmers out of this industry, into more ethical lines of work.”

The use of manual blunt force trauma to kill young pigs is legal in Victoria.

In a statement today, the Allan government said the pork industry had “already started to improve the welfare of farmed pigs” and will continue to “work closely with industry and animal welfare organisations”.

“We won’t shut down an industry that supports thousands of jobs to appease those who pull distressing stunts like this which only hurt their cause,” a government spokesperson said.

“We’re improving animal welfare standards, evidenced by our support for most of the inquiry’s recommendations.

“Several Inquiry recommendations, including investigating viable alternatives to using carbon dioxide to stun pigs, will be considered as part of an Australia wide agreement.”

Victoria’s pig industry is worth $334 million and employs more than 1900 Victorians at 250 commercial pig farm businesses.