Time to end this religious cruelty

Halal meat. Kosher meat. What is it? In basic terms it’s brutal, barbaric, cruel butchery of defenceless animals in the name of religion.

Halal is an Arabic word that means “permissible.” In terms of food, it means food that is permissible according to Islamic law. For a meat to be certified “halal,” it cannot be a forbidden cut (such as meat from hindquarters) or animal (such as pork.)

The slaughter of a halal animal is called “zabihah” and certain guidelines have to be followed:

• Allah’s (God’s) name must be pronounced during slaughter (I don’t know whether to laugh or vomit at this rule).
• The instrument with which the animal is killed must be very sharp to ensure humane slaughter. The animal must be slit at the throat.(this is not humane – see video below –  but it obviously assuages the conscience of those who consume Halal meat but don’t witness the killing, to believe that it is).
• The animal must not be unconscious (this is what makes it barbaric and cruel).
• The animal must be hung upside down and allowed to bleed dry. Eating blood is not halal (this is rubbish. Try eating any red meat without consuming some blood. It’s impossible)
• These steps must be accomplished by a Muslim or the People of the Book (Christian or Jew.) Many observant Muslims find kosher meat acceptable (so Jews are no less cruel than Muslims… interesting)
• The animal must have been fed a natural diet that did not contain animal by-products (oh, that makes it all OK then…).

In 2003, a recommendation was made to the British government that Halal and Kosher slaughter should be banned in the UK and only last year, MP’s said that exemptions from normal UK laws for shechita (Kosher) and zabihah (Halal) slaughter should be removed.

It may be that some animals killed to provide Kosher or Halal meat are stunned before having their throats slit but whilst such unfair exemptions from the law exist for religious groups, many animals will suffer unnecessarily.

This anomaly should be put right immediately with an outright ban on the production of Halal and Kosher meat in the UK and a mandatory duty for all such meat to be clearly labelled if sold in this country.