Ritual Slaughter

The regulation of methods of slaughter of animals for food is predicated on a public policy of minimising the suffering of animals - slaughtering should be humane and cause the least suffering and pain possible. Stunning is generally agreed to go some way towards this objective and is mandated by law. At present legal exemption is given for slaughter for religious reasons to provide the demand for kosher and halal meat. This is despite the Government’s acceptance that this method causes very significant pain and distress.

In addition, meat that has been from animals that have been slaughtered without pre-stunning enters the general market, with no labelling on the produce to show this.

For more detailed information, read our response to the Defra consultation on the proposal for a Council regulation on the protection of animals at the time of killing and our response to the consultation on the Farm Animal Welfare Council Report on the Welfare of Farmed Animals at Slaughter or Killing. We want the removal of the exemption from the law allowing the ritual slaughter of animals for food. So long as ritual slaughter remains legal, all meat, and products made from it, should be labelled as containing meat from animals that were slaughtered without pre-stunning.

Read a summary of the present situation of ritual slaughter, including recommendation of the Farm Animal Welfare Council Report to end the religious exemption for slaughter without pre-stunning, and the Government's response which rejected that recommendation.

What are we doing?

We campaign for an end to the exemptions allowing ritual slaughter in the UK.

We have sought and obtained assurances from most of the major supermarket chains that they do not sell such meat, but up to two-thirds of all ritually slaughtered meat is sold, unlabelled, on the general market.

We are urging parliamentarians to use the opportunity of the ongoing EU food labelling review to seek agreement all meat and meat products from animals that had not been pre-stunned are clearly labelled.

What can you do?

Email your MP requesting that s/he support any legislative changes to abolish religious exemptions from animal welfare laws that permit slaughter of fully conscious animals, and to require that all meat and meat products are clearly labelled as to whether the animal was slaughtered humanely or not.