Millions of animals are suffering unnecessarily by being slaughtered without stunning to meet religious demands.
That's why we campaign to end religious exemptions to animal welfare laws.
Animal welfare law requires animals to be stunned before slaughter to minimise their pain, suffering and distress. The only exemption is for Jewish and Muslim communities to meet kosher and halal religious dietary preferences.
The scientific consensus is clear that it is more humane to stun an animal prior to slaughter. The slaughter of animals without pre-stunning is permitted in the UK despite a recommendation by the government's own advisory body, the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), that the practice should be banned. FAWC concluded that animals slaughtered without pre-stunning are likely to experience "very significant pain and distress".
RSPCA, Compassion in World Farming and the British Veterinary Association all support an end to non-stun slaughter to improve animal welfare at the time of death.
- 70% of Brits think stunning animals before slaughtering them is more ethical.
- 72% of the population think food produced from religious non-stun slaughter methods should be clearly labelled.
We support the right to religious freedom. But this is not an absolute right. Religious exemptions shouldn't be made to laws meant to prevent unnecessary animal cruelty.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Ask your MP to end the religious exemption that allows animals to be slaughtered without pre-stunning.
2. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
3. Join the National Secular Society
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
Council launches consultation on unstunned meat plan for schools
Posted: Thu, 8 Feb 2018 13:51
Lancashire County Council has launched a consultation on its plans to stop supplying unstunned meat to schools after an Islamic group threatened legal action and a boycott over its decision.
In October the council voted to stop supplying non-poultry meat to schools and other establishments unless the animals were stunned before slaughter. But last month the council's leaders said they would reconsider the policy after the Lancashire Council of Mosques (LCM) said it would launch a judicial review and encourage a boycott of school meals.
The council currently supplies unstunned meat to 12,000 pupils at 27 schools in Blackburn, Nelson, Burnley, Rawtenstall, Hyndburn, Clitheroe and Preston.
The consultation opened yesterday and will last until 7 March.
The National Secular Society has called on its supporters in Lancashire to respond. Stephen Evans, the NSS's CEO, said: "Lancashire council should be encouraged to ensure that the meat it supplies to schools adheres to basic welfare standards. Meat from non-stun slaughter clearly falls below that an acceptable standard.
"As long as religious groups are granted an exemption from legislation aimed at ensuring animals do not suffer avoidable distress or pain, the number of animals killed under the exemption should be kept to an absolute minimum. Routinely supplying meat from non-stun slaughter to thousands of children fails to adequately target the supply of such meat and unreasonably imposes a hardline interpretation of Islam on pupils across the county.
"The powerful and entitled so-called 'community leaders'" demanding that all halal meat must be non-stun need to be resisted."
In 2013 the Food Standards Agency carried out an animal welfare survey in abattoirs across Britain which found about 84% of animals slaughtered by the halal method were stunned before being killed. But the NSS is concerned that the non-stun slaughter industry is growing.
On the same day that the Lancashire consultation opened the sharp rise in non-stunned slaughter in Britain was discussed in the House of Lords. Lord Trees raised the fact that the number of sheep slaughtered without stunning between 2011 and 2017 had doubled, according to new Food Standards Agency figures. He said "we are going backwards" on animal welfare.
The NSS, which has long called for an end to the religious exemption to animal welfare laws, wrote to the Government about the figures in October. In reply the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity said the Government was considering introducing labelling requirements to ensure consumers know whether halal or kosher meat has been stunned before slaughter.
Leading vets are among those who say slitting animals' throats and allowing them to bleed to death without prior stunning for halal and kosher meat causes unnecessary suffering. Significant meat-producing countries such as Denmark and New Zealand have no exemption to laws requiring pre-stunning for all slaughter.
While the religious exemption exists the NSS campaigns for consumers to have clear and accurate information on the provenance of the meat they eat.
Geoff Driver, Lancashire County Council's leader, said: "We know people have strong views on this issue and would encourage them to help shape future policy by taking part in this consultation."
Abdul Hamid Qureshi, LCM's chief executive, has accused the council of creating "unnecessary division" and said LCM does not "want any stunned meat at all".
"If you have stunning and other processes it retains the blood to a certain extent in the meat. That's not healthy," he claimed. "It's our faith perspective."
Unstunned meat widespread in UK supermarkets, NSS research reveals
Posted: Thu, 4 Jan 2018 12:10
Meat from animals which have not been stunned before slaughter is widespread in UK supermarkets, National Secular Society research has found.
The NSS examined the policies of 11 supermarket chains and their online produce range, and found that the majority require all meat for their own-brand products to be pre-stunned. This is in line with animal welfare legislation requiring animals to be stunned before slaughter to minimise suffering. But several sell non-stunned meat from other brands, and only two credibly commit to selling meat only from animals that are pre-stunned.
Four supermarkets – Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco – sold halal meat from animals which were not stunned, without clear labelling to indicate this. Five of the supermarkets – Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose – sold kosher meat online. All kosher meat is from unstunned animals.
Waitrose sells unstunned meat despite a policy which misleadingly implies otherwise. Waitrose's policy says: "All the livestock that provide meat for Waitrose are pre-stunned before slaughter to ensure they are insensitive to pain before being killed". It does not make clear that this refers only to own-brand products.
The only major supermarket that credibly and explicitly rejected all non-stunned meat was Marks & Spencer. Their policy states, "All the meat and poultry we sell must, without exception, come from animals that have been humanely slaughtered and animals must be pre-slaughter stunned". No non-stunned halal or kosher products were found on their online site.
Co-op also appears to have rejected unstunned meat at present. "No Co-op own brand fresh and frozen British meat or poultry is Halal certified or slaughtered in a ritual method," its policy states. "We do sell some non-Co-op branded Halal certified meat in a small number of stores where there is sufficient demand, but again this is all stunned prior to slaughter."
Slaughterhouses that kill animals for kosher or halal meat can currently be granted exemption from the requirement to pre-stun animals.
The NSS's research comes shortly after the Government re-stated its interest in introducing labelling requirements for halal and kosher meat to indicate the method of slaughter. Farming minister George Eustice said the Government would consider the move so shoppers can make an "informed choice". His words back up a similar statement from Lord Gardiner of Kimble to the NSS in November.
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said the research had "demonstrated the need for more robust action on unstunned meat".
"We welcome the Government's apparent willingness to introduce labelling to inform consumers, but this must now be backed up in practice. Clear and accurate labelling of meat from non-stun slaughter is necessary to provide consumers with relevant information and will also serve to reduce the amount of meat from non-stun slaughter entering the mainstream food chain. Hiding away the provenance of unstunned meat helps to normalise animal cruelty and serves the interests of religious hardliners who want to increase its supply.
"And ultimately animal welfare laws should apply fairly across society. This means repeal of the religious exemption that permits non-stun slaughter in the first place."
At present there is no legislation requiring meat from animals slaughtered without stunning to be labelled as such, meaning consumers cannot tell which brands of halal meat are stunned unless they research the topic.
The majority of halal meat in the UK is pre-stunned. For example, halal supplier Najma states: "We follow the Islamic values of treating all animals with kindness and compassion. To ensure the welfare of the animals, we do use recoverable stunning prior to slaughter. This is in accordance to the specific rules set out by the Islamic faith and under supervision of our European Halal certifying bodies."
But other brands, including Shazans Select HMC range and Humza, are certified by authorities such as the Halal Monitoring Committee and Halal Monitoring Board, which only certify meat that has not been stunned before slaughter. New data from the Food Standards Agency has revealed a sharp rise in the number of animals slaughtered without pre-stunning over the last four years.
The RSPCA, Compassion in World Farming and the British Veterinary Association have all criticised non-stun slaughter, along with many animal welfare experts. The Farm Animal Welfare Council – a UK Government body – has said the practice should be banned. The EU's Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare has said "pre-cut stunning should always be performed".
The NSS campaigns for religious exemptions to animal welfare laws to be abolished. While non-stun slaughtered meat is still permitted, the Society is calling for clearer labelling on meat slaughtered by religious methods to help consumers make informed choices. The NSS has criticised recent proposals for labelling of halal meat as confusing.
