Interesting Point from a Customer on Lamb Slaughtering.

07 February 2013

No doubt that you will be aware of all the food scandals which abound, but I have my own food scandal which no one seems to articulate in government.

What concerns me, and rather shocked me, is the fact that over 40% of lamb sold in the UK is subject to Halal butchery, which causes animals to suffer. It appears that this can be sold in supermarkets without labelling to advise the consumer.  I will be writing to the minister responsible because if ministers are so concerned about the fact that some meals which are served to prisoners may not be Halal , I'm equally concerned that I should have a right to know what is Halal. Frankly, it should be labelled everywhere it is sold so we can make a choice.

Can you confirm that Beatbush do not in any case adopt Halal slaughtering methods?

As Mahatma Ghandi said, the progress of a nation can be measured in the manner it treats its animals.

I hope that its an easy question for you to answer.


From Nicola Bulgin at Beatbush:

We do not kill lambs in the halal fashion, we send all our stock to C Humphreys and sons a small family run Abattoir near Braintree in Essex.

Regards Nicola


Comments
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Comment:
Jill Mclaughlin
Created on: 08/02/2013 03:30
Halal meat in the UK - is it that different?
Yet things are not as simple as they seem. Shimon Cohen, from Shechita UK, a group set up to promote awareness of Jewish methods of slaughter, and Ruksana Shain, from behalal.org, insist that cutting an individual animal's throat in a single swipe is less cruel than stunning it first by driving a bolt into its skull, gassing it or electrocuting it. Despite this, the halal food authority, which certifies meat for outlets such as KFC, controversially allows animals that are stunned before being killed to be certified as halal. And, according to an RSPCA fact sheet, 90% of animals killed for halal food in 2004 were stunned first. As in mainstream food production, the animal's throat is then cut.

So this supposedly sinister method, it seems, is not that different after all. What the RSPCA, halal groups and kosher experts all agree on is that better labelling is needed so consumers know how their food has been prepared.
Robert Spaul
Created on: 09/02/2013 11:19
The Right to Know
I believe that all consumers have the right to know not only about the content and provenance of food but also, whether religious slaughter of any kind has been employed. Christian ritual should not be imposed on others any more than Kosher or Halal ritual. It's all about respect and a basic right to have all the information in order to make an informed choice.

It is unlikely that Shichita UK or Behalal are likely to agree that the methodology they support is unfair to animals.

The closest we can get to fairness is a quick death for very slaughtered animal.

Bring on labelling!