EVER since witnessing – as a 12-year-old – the sickening slaughter of calf by a rabbi who slit the animal’s throat and impassively watched it in its death throes, I have sworn off religiously-slaughtered meat, and have gone to great lengths to avoid all kosher and halal produce.
So you can imagine my disgust when – a couple of weeks back – the BBC Radio 4 consumer affairs programme, You and Yours, reported – in an overall tone of approval – that an increasing number of supermarkets in the UK were stocking ritually-slaughtered meat to sweeten their Muslim clientele. The programme contained not one word of criticism of this barbaric form of slaughter.
But then came the backlash. Last Friday You and Yours reported that it had received a substantial number of emails and letters from people deeply concerned that halal meat was entering our food chain. I, of course, was one of the many who emailed the BBC to complain.
According to You and Yours, halal meat “accounts for around a quarter of the UK’s meat trade”. When Muslim’s make up only three percent of the UK population it follows that a good deal of this meat is finding its way into institutional catering operations and food outlets not trading as halal establishments.
This is quite unacceptable.
Tim Buckley of Suffolk was one of those who complained to the BBC:
Nowhere was the point put that halal meat produce involves unnecessary cruelty. The animals have their throats cut when conscious ….
And Dale Godfrey said:
I think many people who quietly note the rise of in halal meat, especially in public catering, would be horrified if they realised what this meant in terms of animal welfare.
You and Yours spoke to Masood Khawaja of the Halal Food Authority, who gave an assurance that “slight electronic stunning” is permitted in halal slaughter.
The animal is only stunned to be immobilised. The animal should not be dead prior to slaughter (sic). All the flowing blood should be drained out of the animal because flowing blood is not allowed in Islam.
He pointed out that a Muslim prays over the animal at the point of stunning and slaughter.
So that’s OK then.
But You and Yours also made clear that “not all animals are stunned prior to slaughter”.
There is a debate in the Muslim community as to what constitutes halal meat. Some groups like the Halal Monitoring Committee do not consider stunned animals to be truly halal.
It is legal to kill unstunned animals in European Union countries because religious exemptions have been put in place to accommodate the dietary requirements of Muslims and Jews. This is outrageous, and just another sickening example of how groups can get special treatment simply by playing the religion card.
You and Yours asked the Food Standards Agency whether there was a requirement to indicate that meat is halal, and this is the answer it received:
If a meat product is labeled and marketed to a consumer as halal, the animal would have to have been slaughtered using this method. If the meat is not intended for the halal market, there is no law that requires the method of slaughter to be on the label.
This no doubt means that institutions such as hospitals, schools and prisons would rather ALL their meat be halal. This would be more cost effective than having to cater separately for Muslims, but such a policy is a clear violation of the rights of those who do not want to consume halal produce.
Finally, what do you do if, like me, you are passionate about curry, but don’t want halal meat?
The choice is to prepare your own, bite on the bullet and go vegetarian - or walk into a restaurant and demand pork!
According to You and Yours the majority of Indian restaurants in the UK are Bangladeshi-run, and Bangladeshis are Muslims. The programme suggested that between 70 percent and 99.9 percent of these establishments serve halal meat.
Depressing, ain’t it?
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The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:27 am
Typical - the rights of the religious are zealously protected, and the rest of us left to fend for ourselves. If atheism were a recognised religion (if you’ll pardon the oxymoron) this would never happen. Suddenly the spoof internet “religions” such as the Invisible pink unicorn or the flying spaghetti monster seem to make a modicum of sense. If these non-religions gat get the same status as religions, then things like this might get sorted….although the risk is that the non-religion becomes a religion, thus defeating it’s own objective!
P.S. keep up the good work !
Rog
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:18 am
This is part of why i went vegetarian recently. I find the whole “meat trade” be be vile. I would have no problem killing and eating, for example, a deer that lived wild and which was cleanly shot. What i object to is the treatment of animals as “products”, to be packaged, transported and treated in a way that you would never treat a human - even if they cant talk, they can still feel pain, and they can definitely feel fear. People need to consider what they are eating, rather than just seeing it as another packaged good from the supermarket
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:09 pm
More and more people of faith are moving to a place of compassion for animals. In fact, a Muslim Imam was one of over 30 faith leaders from more than 20 faith traditions who came together last year at Best Friends Animal Society in the US to initiate dialogue about our spiritual relationship with animals. What followed was, “A Religious Proclamation for Animal Compassion,” unveiled last November in the historic Cannon Caucus Room at the Capital in Washington, D.C. (Visit http://www.network.bestfriends.org/religion to read and endorse the proclamation)
These assembled leaders all agreed that such things as animal exploitation, in all of its horrendouse forms, must cease. However, we must stand in solidarity and support their efforts if our voices, on behalf of the animals, are to be heard. We must be an example to the greater faith community that these barbaric rituals must cease.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I am a Muslim vegetarian, but not for the reasons of the halal method of slaughter, which is not discussed properly in this article by the author.
The method, if followed ABSOLUTELY STRICTLY would guarantee an pain-free death for the animal.
Perhaps the author should be reminded of the original rules for halal slaughter:
So what makes meat halal?
The principles of halal can be split into 3 areas;
The actual slaughter
The welfare of the animal
The state of the slaughterer.
The Slaughter
The following procedures constitute the ideal procedure for slaughtering an animal…
The animal is given a drink of water and is to be placed lying down facing Mecca
(note: how many animals in Europe are transported to Italy in searing heat without water or rest, mainly equines : Source: Viva )
The animal must be calmed (compare with animals crammed in western abattoires)
The animal is not allowed to see other animals going to slaughter or being slaughtered and ideally not let to smell other animals’ blood (again Western mass-marketed abbattoirs are the worst for separating animals).
The animal can at no time see the knife
The knife must be razor sharp
A prayer must be read and the intention to take the animal’s life for the correct reasons must be made
The neck must be slit in one clean pull of the knife cutting through the skin and oesophagus right to the back of the neck
The animal must be held securely until all life has left it.
So why am I vegetarian? I am vegetarian purely because, like the millions around the world who follow faiths OR are faithless, who do not know where their meat comes from, now abstain from eating meat. Yes, a lot of Muslim slaughterers do not follow the correct procedure above, and have become copies of their Western counterparts in selling animals for mass consumption and as commodities.
Islam is often depicted as cruel and barbaric, and this picture which looks like it has been taken somewhere in the Indian Subcontinent is typical of igniting hostility to a religion which treats its animals with respect and compassion.
I am surprised that Spain and other countries still enjoy barbaric rituals -animal cruelty purely for games and leisure, and that religions are the first to come under attack from uninformed vegetarians.
Perhaps the author should re-read a few pointers before attacking both the Jewish and Muslim faith.
I would suggest Channel 4’s Slaughter in the Abbatoir.
Sincerely
Jasmine Hadi
BBC
October 6th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
how could you?
December 8th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Jasmine Hadi mentioned the right way that should be followed to slaughter animals. I would just like to add few thoughts…
- Stunned or electrified animals are not dead, it takes up to one hour before an electrified animal is actually dead. Stunning and electricity put the brain in a coma due to errors in neuronal signals, the brain can still feel pain. On the other hand, slitting the throat stop the blood supply for the brain causing its immediate death within 3-10 seconds.
Which is more cruel?
- Blood is full of uric acid, body usually discard it and filtrate the blood through kidneys, when the heart stops the blood coagulate or get absorbed by the flesh and muscle tissues.
What would you rather eat? meat full or urine or urine free meat?
- Blood is the ideal medium for germs to live in. A piece of meat saturated with blood is even better.
What would you rather eat? Meat with germs or germ-free meat?
December 18th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
In Cruel and barberic Halal method the wind pipe get cut-off , the nerve to the Brain which is responsible for the pain
gets cutt-off and animal feels no pain at all and heart still pumps blood out of the body even after it disconnect from the Brain
.In ancient time the kings punish the criminal by placing their neck under the falling heavy large blade,which behead them in just one stroke.
In this method too, wind pipe get cut-off , nerve from heart to the brain get cut-off which is responsible for pain and Heart still pump for few second and
blood oozes out of the body.In both method the result is same.Think Technically.So why Halal method is adopted.In Halal, knife can slit the throat only
upto the Neck bone.A person holding knife can not cut the whole throat to the neck of the animal because in between strong neck bone is there.Or simply saying
he cannot behead the animal completely.So why to let the animal die with the half cutted throat ?Muslim says that after the knife’s sharp cut on animal throat
the heart has no link with the brain and it pumps the blood out of the body.In traditional beheading method same thing happens.I dont know why Halal method is
still preferred.And one more thing , can any one give the gurantee that in each Halal the Knife Cut is perfect ? or the butcher butcher is able to cut nerve from heart to
the brain of the muscular animal in just one first knife cut ?What about slaughtering the camel by Halal method ?The large SAW like weapon is inserted in the throat
of the camal horizontally ?Okay , i agreed to the Darwin’s Theory that “Survival of the Fittest “.Islam originates from Saudi Arab.Once there was just sand every where.
No vegetation at all.And muslim people are forced to eat meat by killing the animals.But now Middle-East countries are major supplier of petoleum to the whole world.
They are very rich and can import or produce any vegetation.But still they are fond of eating JUST meat by killing animals brutely..!!
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Just a comment aimed at all the “pro halal” commentators on this blog, I eat meat, and it is MY HUMAN RIGHT to choose the method of slaughter for meat produced which is for my own consumption, in line with my views the stunning is less cruel, I for one will make my views known to the supermarket chains that I will only knowingly buy NON halal meat, and in a free and democratic society surely that is my right.
If I ever found myself eating food in a government institution, such as a hospital or prison, I would want to know how my meat was produced, and would make it my business to find out.
January 5th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Forget the arguments about whether Religious slaughter is cruel or not, the law in this country is quite clear about how animals are slaughtereed an exception is granted for Jews/Muslims only.
Religiously slaughtered meat should not enter the main food chain. It concerns me how places like Masala Zone and Tiffin Bites sell alcohol and do not make it clear on the “restaurant” front that they only serve religiously slaughtered meat. Surely this will attract people from outside the small minority (<3%) for which this meat is intended for consumption by. I urge everyone to contact their MPs requesting clear labelling on relgiously slaughtered meat and the venues that sell it.