A NEW report into religious slaughter has called for further research and analysis on the measurement of pain in animals at the time they are killed using halal or kosher methods.
The study by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Beef and Lamb, comes after Farmers Guardian last week reported concerns within the industry over stun versus non-stun slaughter and how any change in the law could affect the market.
Group chairman Neil Parish said there were ‘no easy solutions’ to what was ‘legally and culturally a very complicated set of circumstances’, but called for more research into humane methods which are still compatible with Jewish and Muslim requirements.
The report said: “The group is in agreement with the Government that while it is preferable all meat is stunned before slaughter, it is to the benefit and pride of the UK religious freedoms allow communities to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious rites.”
Labelling
The report also made recommendations on labelling to help consumers make informed decisions when buying meat.
The group believes labelling should be carried out on a ‘stun versus non-stun basis’, and that an impact assessment on the burden to the industry should be undertaken in relation to mandatory labelling.
BVA president Robin Hargreaves welcomed the MPs’ stance on the issue.
He said: “We are concerned meat from non-stun slaughter is entering the market unlabelled.
“We believe strongly food should be labelled as stunned or non-stunned and we are delighted the all-party group supports the BVA call for clearer labelling.”
Originally published on www.farmersguardian.com
UK Veterinarians Intensify Efforts to Ban Non-Stun Slaughter
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.