This report quotes scientific papers and French veterinary PhD which support the equality or even possible superiority of religious slaughter to other methods of slaughter. The UK Government is being urged to consider a ban on slaughter methods used for halal and kosher meat. raise no objection to any animal bred, reared or owned by me being level 2. Halal – Muslim method of slaughter Halal slaughter must be carried out by Muslims who hold an official slaughterman’s licence but, unlike Jewish slaughtermen, they are ... there is a considerable body of scientific evidence that this is not the case. There are two distinct issues which need to be considered separately. As the Whitbread spokesman quoted above made clear, in such cases meat is purchased from a supplier on grounds of price and quality, and the supplier just happens to be halal. Religion and community cohesion There are … The Court’s starting premise was that “a scientific consensus has emerged that prior stunning is the optimal means of reducing the animal’s suffering at the time of killing.” For halal and kosher consumers, meat quality has both spiritual and conventional components. The British Veterinary Association (BVA), RSPCA, and Compassion in World Farming have had long running campaigns against slaughter without stunning arguing that the scientific evidence, shows that non-stun slaughter allows animals to perceive pain and compromises welfare. This is a simple guide to give Halal Meat Consumers a basic understanding of the key issues in relation to halal slaughter & stunning of Lamb, Poultry and Cattle. There was recently an, Attempts to require the compulsory labelling of excess kosher or halal meat which is sold into the mainstream food chain in a particular manner. Knife must be sharp. Muslim Council of Britain subjected to this method of slaughter”. 2. The global trade in red meat and poultry produced using these two methods is substantial, thus the importance of the quality of the meat produced using the methods. Sheep - Similar disturbances were also seen in sheep, but besides the somewhat higher frequency there are still clearly superimposed waves. Politics For two sheep the cerebral cortex activity only stopped in one half of the brain, whilst it continued in the other in the –region (up to 3.5 Hz) until the bloodletting cut. For any new comments, please use the Disqus comments facility above. Shechita UK have an excellent document "A Guide to Shechita (May 2009)" on their website. New law says animals must be stunned before slaughter, winning activists’ support but upsetting Jews and Muslims. Halal meat study press coverage misleading and 'insulting' to Muslims, author claims. Among the rules for halal slaughter: the animal is not to be killed within the sight/hearing of other animals, as that will upset the others; and before it's killed it is given a drink of water to make it comfortable. Where they are majority Jewish or Muslim, it is entirely reasonable for the establishment to serve kosher/halal meat respectively, even if that means the minority of non-Jews/Muslims cannot eat the meat. During the experiments with captive bolt stunning no indications could be found for proscribing this method for calves. Its infinitive is Tazkiyahwhich means purification. There are … Halal and kosher slaughter per se should not affect meat quality more than their industrial equivalents, however, some of their associated pre- and post-slaughter processes do. 1. As a lover of animals, an owner of cattle and a veterinary Surgeon I would 9).Gregory et al. The Islamic method of slaughtering animals has come under attack by an independent advisory group and has hit the news headlines. That is why the ruling was factually wrong. The captive bolt pistol used commonly for cattle, calves and goats. In my view there are no grounds for banning shechita and halal slaughter. There is no scientific evidence that says that the food differs in any way beyond the cook and recipe. To summarise, there were no problems with the “ritual cut” method for either calves or sheep. Jews, Muslims decry court decision backing Belgian ban on kosher, halal slaughter December 18, 2020 CNA Daily News News Briefs 1 Print Halal … In addition to these conventional quality issues, the “spiritual quality” of the meat can also be affected when the halal and kosher religious requirements are not fully met during the slaughter process. It is up to the establishment whether it gives an advance notice or responds to questions from those who care about the issue. We support BVA, RSPCA, HSA, FAWC and FVE who conclude that scientific evidence shows that non-stun slaughter allows animals to perceive pain and compromises welfare. The zero line was recorded no later than 14 seconds after the cut. This scientific evidence is provided by The University of Pretoria following farm audits by the university staff and forms part of the audit system of the ISO9001 quality assurance program. Cramps occurred in the animals regularly only after the brain currents had stopped. Animal slaughter ruling in Belgium stirs religious freedom debate. Calves - After captive bolt stunning most severe general disturbances (waves of 1-2 Hz) occurred in the EEG, which almost with certainty eliminates a sense of pain. However while the captive bolt caused no problems with calves, there were problems with sheep. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. or its licensors or contributors. For the following 3 seconds, the EEG recorded a condition of deep sleep - unconsciousness. CNA Staff, Dec 18, 2020 / 01:01 pm (CNA).- Despite concern that a Belgian law bans Jewish and Muslim religious slaughter practices, a European Union court has said the law is justified by the need to promote animal welfare even if it does not accommodate religious freedom. The ritual cut experiments were carried out on 17 sheep of the breed “black headed meat sheep” and 15 calves of various breeds. In addition to these audits, samples of urine, kidneys, water, soil, feed, etc. The Halal method is MEANT to be humane. Accordingly, if shechita and halal slaughter were banned, they would be forced to give up eating meat. Sheep - After the bloodletting cut loss of reaction (loss of consciousness) occurred after 10 seconds the latest. ‘Dhabiha’ meat to be exact or what is commonly called ‘Halal Meat’ these days, is the meat derived after slaughtering the animal in accordance with Islamic principles. Scientific dispute.  On her website she has written extensively on “ritual slaughter practices” and in particular addressed some studies that purport to show that shechita and halal slaughter are cruel. You are seeing both the menu box and the box "Tap here for MENU" because your browser does not support Javascript. • This report quotes in particular the Ph.D work of Dr Pouillaude which concludes by:"religious slaughter would thus be a less stressing mode of slaughter 39. In one London borough, Tower Hamlets, in east London, over 100 schools only use halal meat.”. Site philosophy. Some advocates of kosher and halal slaughter say animals lose consciousness in seconds under their methods and may even suffer less. If you wish to reproduce any of my pages, please use the "Contact me" page to reach me to discuss terms. This scientific evidence is provided by The University of Pretoria following farm audits by the university staff and forms part of the audit system of the ISO9001 quality assurance program. For 7 animals a zero EEG was recorded no later than after 23 seconds. Halal and kosher slaughter practices per se do not affect meat quality more than their conventional equivalents. Overall, the research demonstrated objectively that there was no cruelty issue with shechita and halal slaughter. As part of the research project the effectiveness of captive bolt stunning was first analysed using EEG. Slaughtering should be done quickly. Home Should religious slaughter be banned in the UK? Just as science backs Islam’s logic of declaring pig haram and how praying 5 times a day helps a person stay healthier, there is also a specious logic behind eating halal meat (where the animal is slaughtered) instead of chopping its head off directly, which makes it haram. Customers have a right to know if they are being served kosher or halal meat. Accordingly, I would require overwhelming evidence of significant extra pain and suffering to the animals concerned before even engaging in any discussion of whether some humans (comprising over 20% of the human race) should be banned from killing animals in the only manner that they regard as religiously appropriate. Join my email list I - Halal Method. "Is there any scientific evidence to show that shechita is humane? Johnson summarised his results last week in London when receiving an award from the UK Humane Slaughter Association. It adds that 'given the choice 90% of Muslims prefer non-stun method of slaughter when it comes to consuming halal meat'. There are those who argue that humans should not kill animals for food in any circumstances. I received a photocopy several years ago, and an English translation is available on the internet. The approach of these studies can be summarised as follows: Experiments for measuring the heart frequency and brain activity during slaughter conditions were carried out on 23 sheep and 15 calves. The animal rights group Gaia said that the law against halal and kosher was a milestone for livestock welfare, and that the law was the product of two and a half decades of campaigning. Now updated with more scientific arguments quotes, and comparisons with slaughtering of animals using non Islamic methods. Contrary to what many assume, an estimated 88% of animals killed by halal methods in Britain are stunned before slaughter Positions on religious slaughter vary around the world - in the US, for instance, it is specifically defined as a humane method in the Humane Slaughter Act (1958) - but elsewhere several countries have already restricted or banned slaughtering unstunned animals. When I attended secondary school, perhaps 1% (or less) of the children in my school were Muslims. Each of us changes the world every day. Islam, considered to be the perfect religion, has always provided reasons for the dos and don’ts in its properties. Even if you are not registered on any of these, you can still post a comment. We must differentiate between religious and non-stun slaughter. The investigations had the following results: In summary the following conclusions are possible: The slaughter in the form of ritual cut is, if carried out properly, painless in sheep and calves according to the EEG recordings and the missing defensive actions. The objective is to arm the consumer with enough information to make suitable enquiries , avoid that meat Finance There is scientific evidence that, with sticking in 'Halal system,' the flow of blood that would go to the brain is stopped instantly, causing the instant death, eliminating in this way, any possibility of releasing toxins that contaminate the meat. The first three seconds from the time of Islamic slaughter as recorded on the EEG did not show any change from the graph before slaughter, thus indicating that the animal did not feel any pain during or immediately after the incision. Correct english translation for the rules for performing a correct shechita cut. In jhatka [i.e. I do not regard it as unreasonable to give non-Muslims the choice of eating the halal meat on offer, or eating something else, since practicality requires catering for the majority, as in my school days. No such overwhelming evidence of significant extra pain exists, so there is no need to attempt to conclude on the question itself. In most cases it will not be cost effective or practical to also provide non-halal meat for those pupils who are both non-Muslim and who do not wish to eat halal meat. Even as the UK Parliament refuses to serve halal meat at restaurants on its premises, fresh scientific opinion suggests halal is the better option. The Court’s starting premise was that “a scientific consensus has emerged that prior stunning is the optimal means of reducing the animal’s suffering at the time of killing.” For instance, the slow decline in blood pressure following a halal pre-slaughter head-only stun and neck cut causes blood splash (ecchymosis) in a range of muscles and organs of slaughtered livestock. Just as science backs Islam’s logic of declaring pig haram and how praying 5 times a day helps a person stay healthier, there is also a specious logic behind eating halal meat (where the animal is slaughtered) instead of chopping its head off directly, which makes it haram. Several decades ago, in 1978, Wilhelm Schulze and his colleagues, and published a paper in German, in the journal Deutsche Tieraerztliche Wochenschrift which summarised various pieces of research into the cruelty issue. the Sikh tradition ], not all the blood is drained, leaving the meat tougher and drier." https://www.kinderworld.org/videos/meat-industry/halal-slaughter It is the mirror image of the situation that prevails when Jews/Muslims are in the minority. The research involved inserting electrodes into the brains of animals, waiting until the electrode insertion wounds had healed, and the slaughtering the animals by using a captive bolt or by cutting its throat. The nature, causes, importance and mitigations of these and other quality issues related to halal and kosher slaughtering and meat production using these methods are the subjects of this review. My rights were not infringed when I was at school, and the rights of non-Muslim pupils in the circumstances above are not being infringed today. For sheep, however, there were in parts severe reactions both to the bloodletting cut and the pain stimuli. You can login using any of your Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Disqus identities. Attempts to ban the practice on animal welfare grounds. In addition there was also the issue of what actually occurs after the sheep is stunned. Everything on this site, other than comments made using the comments facility, is written by me in a personal capacity and should not be attributed to any organisation with which I may be associated. There are many slaughter procedures that religions and cultures use around the world. The conditions for Halal slaughter can be summarized as follows: The animal to be slaughtered must be from the categories that are permitted for Muslims to eat. It is not mentioned on any of our menus because we don’t think there is customer demand for that information. Anecdotal evidence suggested that almost half of lambs destined for slaughter were killed without prior stunning. Most customers (excluding Jews and Muslims) do not care either way, although the inflammatory language of the Daily Mail stories is clearly trying to create a groundswell of opinion against the use of halal meat. But non-stun slaughter is permitted for certain communities. If you do not wish to have your data used by Google Analytics, please visit Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on and install the add-on. While they are entitled to be vegetarians, I do not think they have the right to enforce vegetarianism on other people. That's why the practice of pre-stunning is mandatory throughout the EU. Regulations also may extend to butchery products sold in accordance with kashrut and halal religious law. The scientific evidence contradicts the cruelty claim. However it should be recognised that, absent newspaper campaigns about halal food, few non-Jews or non-Muslims express much concern about whether the meat they are being served has been killed using shechita or halal slaughter. Religious claims should not make us lose our standards. That is why the ruling was factually wrong. If they are told it is halal, they can then choose to go elsewhere, which is exactly the same decision Jews and Muslims make every day in reverse. Apart from the clear Divine laws and orders to us, and the clear physiological and scientific evidence, I would like to mention one golden rule in Islam which, again, fits into the perfection of mercy to every individual animal. (2009) examined bovine respiratory tracts of 124 animals for blood following halal slaughter without stunning. Updated 20 February 2015 with a quote from the Shechita UK document. To further investigate the occurrence of low frequency potentials in sheep stunned by captive bolt followed by a bloodletting cut, six sheep were stunned in a second phase of the experiment by captive bolt and then bled at various intervals. The Disqus comments facility below allows you to comment on this page. Proponents and opponents of stunning need to cooperate to protect animal welfare at slaughter and to produce high-quality meat. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. Halal and kosher slaughter methods and meat quality: A review. This was the case with the. Stunned halal meat move ‘inhumane’ Halal slaughter or ‘dhabiha’ refers to bleeding animals destined for meat by following the method prescribed by ... based on scientific evidence. "Halal is considered healthier because after slaughter, blood is drained from the animal's arteries, ejecting most toxins because the heart continues to pump for a few seconds after slaughter. See how Google uses data when you use Google's partners' sites. It is worthwhile reading the full paper, but I have copied its key conclusions below: “These documents reveal the following: The investigations carried out aimed at providing objective data for the evaluation of ritual slaughter from an animal welfare legislation point of view. It is up to the organisation and its customers whether the establishment mentions that the meat is halal. A Whitbread spokesman said: ‘We don’t specify halal as a requirement in our procurement. For instance, the slow decline in blood pressure following a halal pre-slaughter head-only stun and neck cut causes blood splash (ecchymosis) in a range of muscles and organs of slaughtered livestock. Islam, considered to be the perfect religion, has always provided reasons for the dos and don’ts in its properties. Fifty eight percent and 69% of the cattle were found to have blood lining the inner aspect of the trachea and the upper bronchi, respectively (). According to scientific evidence, the zabihah method of slaughter is actually one of the most humane types of slaughter. The heart frequency rose directly after stunning to values above 300 actions per minute. TV radio & video However, in Islam the regulations have been given long before any scientific data was generated on the pre-slaughter care and treatment of The debate over when meat is halal and whether it should be clearly labelled has been put back on the agenda by vets and animal welfare campaigners who … The EU claimed that Belgium reached the conclusions that formed their new law based on scientific evidence regarding the suffering of animals before slaughter. Animal welfare campaigners regularly allege that shechita and halal slaughter are cruel. ", Britain goes halal... but no-one tells the public: How famous institutions serve ritually slaughtered meat with no warning, Halal Britain: Schools and institutions serving up ritually slaughtered meat, how Google uses data when you use Google's partners' sites. Aspiration of blood into the lungs is yet another welfare concern of halal slaughter without stunning (Grandin, 2010b, chap. For these consumers, meat spiritual quality is the foundation on which other quality attributes are built. The calls follow the Flemish region of Belgium’s decision to ban the practice, which requires the animal’s throat to be slit without stunning first, the blood is then allowed to drain away from the body.. Apparent cramps were registered for all sheep with the exception of one animal. Book reviews “Whitbread, which also owns Table Table restaurants, Costa Coffee shops and Premier Inn hotels, admitted last night that 80 per cent of the chicken it served comes from halal poultry ­suppliers, including some in Muslim-dominated Turkey. The zero line in the EEG was reached for 4 calves after 28 seconds. As such, there are incredibly strict requirements that kosher slaughter be humane, and the same is true for Halal. In addition to these audits, samples of urine, kidneys, water, soil, feed, etc. In my view, the animal welfare argument that shechita and halal slaughter cause excessive suffering to animals is not well founded. A proof of the reliable effectiveness of captive bolt stunning could not be provided using the methods applied.”. Amongst Muslims, some consider pre-stunning to be permissible while others regard it as prohibited. 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