concern over rise in animals killed without stunning, say vets

[llamedos]

Almost a quarter (24.4%) of sheep and goats slaughtered between April and June this year had their throats cut without first being made insensible to pain. An increase from 15% in 2013, when the EU and UK-adopted legislation allowing an exemption for animals that are slaughtered for religious purposes came into force.
see latest survey by FSA

British Veterinary Association President Gudrun Ravetz said, “This huge increase in the number of sheep, goats and poultry that are not stunned or not stunned effectively before slaughter is a grave concern to our profession. Millions of individual animals are affected, making this a major animal welfare issue.

“The supply of meat from animals that have not been stunned massively outstrips the demand from the communities for which it is intended and is entering the mainstream market unlabelled.

source BVA

 

[llamedos]

On Farming Today from 6:00
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0930zvm#play

 

[Joe]

Does anyone know the actual religious reason for this method so can try and understand it a little? (apologies if outlined in the link, but cannot access it)

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Does anyone know the actual religious reason for this method so can try and understand it a little? (apologies if outlined in the link, but cannot access it)

I believe it's because an animal must be healthy and not died of any blows or mechanical way and also blood is haram So they cut the throats so it bleeds out and dies

 

[beardface]

Another reason for the vegans to turn the public against us

 

[Woolless]

Almost a quarter (24.4%) of sheep and goats slaughtered between April and June this year had their throats cut without first being made insensible to pain. An increase from 15% in 2013, when the EU and UK-adopted legislation allowing an exemption for animals that are slaughtered for religious purposes came into force.
see latest survey by FSA

British Veterinary Association President Gudrun Ravetz said, “This huge increase in the number of sheep, goats and poultry that are not stunned or not stunned effectively before slaughter is a grave concern to our profession. Millions of individual animals are affected, making this a major animal welfare issue.

“The supply of meat from animals that have not been stunned massively outstrips the demand from the communities for which it is intended and is entering the mainstream market unlabelled.

source BVA

Is this 24% of the total sheep and goats slaughtered, or 24% of the halal sheep and goats slaughtered? Big difference.

 

[Joe]

I believe it's because an animal must be healthy and not died of any blows or mechanical way and also blood is haram So they cut the throats so it bleeds out and dies

Thanks, must look into a bit more. Interested to see why a stun which isn't kill falls outside their rules.

 

[llamedos]

Does anyone know the actual religious reason for this method so can try and understand it a little? (apologies if outlined in the link, but cannot access it)

The Jewish method of slaughter(all no stun) = Shechita
The Hebrew bible tells them that God handed down their dietary laws to Moses(note this differs from our teachings) In the 5 books of Moses, they abide by their own Torah(bible) their spoken or oral Torah contains all the laws & teaching they live by.

As Northeastfarmer has correctly said, the beast must not be injured or unhealthy at the point Shechita is performed, they consider stunning to be cause of injury and a delay in slaughter.

On the stun v non stun labeling.
The legal definition of stunning here in the UK states “render an animal unconscious until death”
Kosher and Halal no stun they argue does exactly that, and is as close instantaneous as one could get. ie it is stun and slaughter in one swift action.

So, to label meat non stunned, does that hint that the meat comes from a method that is not humane. ie outside our welfare laws?
Would a pre stunned label state that sometimes this goes wrong ...?


Do we restrict those who's religion stops them from eating non stunned meat from buying their food in supermarkets/restaurants?

So so many questions, seldom will anyone agree.

From a producer point of view, do you refuse to sell your animals? Who else would take those old cull ewes - convenient then isn't it.
Do those who frequent KFC shout so loud when they are hungry, or even realise they are buying from an outlet where there are no non Halal products sold?

 

[llamedos]

Is this 24% of the total sheep and goats slaughtered, or 24% of the halal sheep and goats slaughtered? Big difference.

The links are all in the OP.

 

[GreenerGrass]

At the end of the day, if vets are concerned about the animal welfare implications then I, and others should be too. Based on the information available, and the care I put into my animals I couldn't send them to a non-stun abattoir. In any case no Organic produce can be non-stun in my understanding.

I think the issue is that one of the halal "monitoring" bodies is aggressively pushing the non-stun route as being the "correct" interpretation.

 

[Deereone]

Is cutting an animals throat without stunning first, cruel or not? If it is cruel then why is it allowed for religious reasons? If not then why bother to stun? Where is PETA when all this is going on?

 

[Castle Farm]

More like 74%

 

[The_Swede]

Sounds like we might be getting somewhere, well done BVA...

Now, is there an MP with any principles and backbone in the commons to table a motion or is anyone listening at the NFU, ADHB, Red Tractor etc

 

[maen]

I have seen both methods of chicken slaughter, industrial and Kosher. I have to say I have no problem with Kosher. Is Kosher slaughter going to become illegal, I think not.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

I have seen both methods of chicken slaughter, industrial and Kosher. I have to say I have no problem with Kosher. Is Kosher slaughter going to become illegal, I think not.

With the greatest respect chicken slaughter is not the same as cattle or sheep slaughter....cattle take much longer to die

 

[borderterribles]

I have seen both methods of chicken slaughter, industrial and Kosher. I have to say I have no problem with Kosher. Is Kosher slaughter going to become illegal, I think not.

Of course it isn't. The disgraceful bit is that the parts of the animals that are forbidden by a Kosher diet , ie in cattle any part of the animal that can be swept by the tail, (so the most valuable bits then) are put out into the general trade without the requirement to state that the animal was Kosher slaughtered

 

[Lovegoodstock]

At the end of the day, if vets are concerned about the animal welfare implications then I, and others should be too. Based on the information available, and the care I put into my animals I couldn't send them to a non-stun abattoir. In any case no Organic produce can be non-stun in my understanding.

I think the issue is that one of the halal "monitoring" bodies is aggressively pushing the non-stun route as being the "correct" interpretation.

If you are talking about "vets" present at slaughterhouse, foreign underqualified to be mascarading as vets, they are more concerned about paperwork, brother in law sold a steer that was a heifer he had bought yet missed, I sold a store beast years back that I read a tag as 669 and was 996 on metal to order a missing plastic one , yes daft as didn't check the check digit or notice age on passport would be have been 8 months out but when that scenario is an animal unfit for human consumption and yet these practices regularly are carried out then it makes you wonder, though I sell lighter lambs at auction that I know a lot are bought by a butcher that has a job for them, but do they all end up there???

 

[Woolless]

If you are talking about "vets" present at slaughterhouse, foreign underqualified to be mascarading as vets, they are more concerned about paperwork, brother in law sold a steer that was a heifer he had bought yet missed, I sold a store beast years back that I read a tag as 669 and was 996 on metal to order a missing plastic one , yes daft as didn't check the check digit or notice age on passport would be have been 8 months out but when that scenario is an animal unfit for human consumption and yet these practices regularly are carried out then it makes you wonder, though I sell lighter lambs at auction that I know a lot are bought by a butcher that has a job for them, but do they all end up there???

So the vet spotted something you missed but they're not up to the job??

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Not up to the job of observing an animal rather than paperwork, many people send an animal that shouldn't be travelling with a vet certificate to travel, as they know fully well that these vets wont challenge a properly qualified vet, that in my opinion is why they should be there. In my case I sent a simple e mail on behalf of friend saying it was my mistake and all was fine, the animal was then fit for human consumption. I just se that as job for the boys and a complete waste of time

 

[Grassman]

Religeon should be part of history. How people believe in it is beyond me!