The Guardian, Tuesday 22 September 2009
It is great to hear that the Muslim community is increasingly looking at organic meat for the celebration of their religious festivities (Halal meat goes from minority to mainstream for food lovers, 19 September). However, it is misleading to think that halal means high welfare.
Much of halal slaughter involves animals' throats being cut while they are fully conscious. Compassion in World Farming is opposed to such practice both because of the severe pain experienced at throat-cutting by unstunned animals and because there is a prolonged period between throat-cutting and loss of brain responsiveness, during which animals can suffer extreme pain and distress.
While we value religious freedom, we do not believe this should extend to practices which inflict suffering on animals.
Compassion in World Farming has been working with leading animal welfare academics and the Islamic community regarding the slaughter of animals for halal meat and is pleased to see that many certification bodies in the UK allow pre-stunning, which still complies with religious rules relating to halal slaughter, and supports Islamic teaching, which respects all animals as part of creation.
by John Callaghan
Director of programmes, Compassion in World Farming
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