MP Letter: Non-stun slaughter

Non-stun religious slaughter

Tell your MP why you support a complete ban on non-stun slaughter

Writing to your MP can help to get the campaign for an end to the religious exemption that allows animals to be slaughtered without pre-stunning on the political agenda. We campaign in parliament as an organisation, and your support will bolster our case.

Hints and tips

- Personalising your letter will make it more likely to have an impact.

- Keep your thoughts fairly brief. MPs are busy and get a lot of correspondence.

- Use clear and simple language.

- If you have an interesting perspective which helps to support the argument against non-stun slaughter, consider sharing it.

Name*:

Email*:

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Address:

Message*:

Dear {{name}},

Please consider supporting the National Secular Society's campaign to end the religious exemption that allows animals to be slaughtered without pre-stunning.

Animal welfare legislation requires all animals to be stunned before slaughter in order to minimise suffering. The only exemption is for religious communities to meet Jewish and Muslim religious dietary preferences.

The scientific consensus is clear that it is more humane to stun an animal prior to slaughter than not to do so. 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. The FAWC concluded that animals slaughtered without pre-stunning are likely to experience "very significant pain and distress" before they become unconscious.

The 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. Despite this, there has been a sharp rise in the number of animals slaughtered in recent years according to the Food Standards Agency.

It is clear that the supply of meat from animals that have not been stunned massively outstrips the demand from the communities for which it is intended. The exemption from animal welfare law to allow religious non-stun slaughter in schedule 12 of the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) (WASK) Regulations 1995 clearly states that it applies to people of that religion, not to everybody. This is clarified in the government's guidance on halal and kosher slaughter which states: "the meat must be intended for consumption by Jews or Muslims".

However, meat from non-stun slaughtered animals is entering the mainstream market unlabelled, to the extent that it is being supplied by some councils to all schools within its local authorities, regardless of religious designation. Nearly 97% of 1400 respondents to a Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs consultation last year supported mandatory labelling of non-stun meat.

I urge you to take action to stop further unnecessary animal cruelty by end the religious exemption that allows animals to be slaughtered without pre-stunning. In the meantime, any meat from animals slaughtered without pre-stunning must be clearly labelled.

Yours sincerely,

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MP Letter: Non-stun slaughter

Non-stun religious slaughter

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