THE SOCIETY
DONATE 
Start a standing order, make a donation, or join the Lawyers' Secular Society.
NEWS
William Hague defends
Country's strict enforcement of sharia law sees
PROJECTS AND RESOURCE CENTER
Current LSS Projects
Faith Schools
Religion in the workplace
Sexual orientation and faith based discrimination
Faith based arbitration and mediation in the UK
Secular Medicine
Animal welfare and religious privilege
Animal welfare and religious privilege
Animal welfare and religious privilege
1. The LSS supports law reform in accordance with current scientific research as to what is the most humane way to treat an animal.
2. Research shows that the most humane way to kill an animal is to stun it prior to slaughter. A scientific study by the Government’s Farm Animal Welfare Council in 2003 found that animals could remain fully conscious for up to two minutes after having their throats cut. Other related organisations opposing ritual slaughter are: Farm Animal Welfare Council, British Veterinary Association, Compassion in World Farming, RSPCA.
3. Current law contains a requirement to stun animals prior to slaughter under Regulation 5(1)(b)(iii) of the European Communities (Protection of Animals At Time of Slaughter) Regulations, S.I. No. 114/1995. Regulation 5(2) contains an exemption from this requirement for ritualistic slaughter as performed by Muslims and Jews.
4. The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), which advises the government on how to avoid cruelty to livestock, says the way Kosher and Halal meat is produced causes severe suffering to animals. Both the Jewish and Muslim religions demand that slaughter is carried out with a single cut to the throat, rather than the more widespread method of stunning with a bolt into the head before slaughter.
5. The European Commission has put forward plans to ensure that animals facing slaughter are “spared any avoidable pain, distress or suffering”. Under the proposals all animals facing slaughter would have to be electrically stunned beforehand. The EU plans contain an opt-out for countries wanting to continue to allow so-called religious slaughter.
6. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs launched a consultation in January 2009 on the best way to implement the EU rules in Britain.