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
NSS criticises EU leaders’ unqualified backing for religious rituals
Posted: Tue, 29 May 2018 18:03
The National Secular Society has criticised two senior EU politicians after they said they would oppose restrictions on rituals such as genital cutting and religious animal slaughter.
According to Arutz Sheva, the president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani called for the preservation of "the religious identity of Europe's citizens" during a speech at a synagogue in Brussels last week.
At the same event Frans Timmermans, the first vice-president of the European Commission, said the commission would "not tolerate" legislation which would limit kosher slaughter or circumcision.
Tajani said the European Parliament had "brought discussion of religion back to the political discourse" and would "protect religious freedom".
"Europe will not achieve integration and unity among its citizens as long as it limits or bans the religious community from fulfilling its religious commandments, such as circumcision and kosher slaughter.
"Only by protecting their rights and preserving their identities will every citizen have personal security, with the unity and equality which lead to tranquil lives. This is what Europe is based on."
Timmermans said the commission was "more determined than ever to fight for the undisturbed continuation of Jewish tradition in Europe".
"We cannot act indifferently towards the leaders and commandments of religion.
"I ask you again to inform us of any information from your communities on the subject of systematic verbal incitement in European Union member countries. We will not tolerate any legislation or legal initiatives against religious laws, including kosher slaughter and circumcision, which would limit the religious rights of Europe's citizens."
Both men were awarded prizes for making a "unique contribution to the protection of religious rights, and their consistent and determined fight against anti-Semitism" at the event. Both made reference to the Holocaust during their speeches.
NSS spokesperson Chris Sloggett said the comments "appear to suggest religious freedom should be an unqualified right which belongs only to some".
"If laws are to achieve their stated aims they must apply to all citizens in the relevant jurisdictions. Giving special exemptions to the most assertive within religious communities is often the path of least resistance but it undermines legitimate efforts to protect human – and animal – rights.
"It's particularly alarming that speeches which focused on the horror of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust should stray into this kind of territory. It's not only utterly erroneous to conflate those who argue that children deserve bodily integrity or animals should be treated humanely with those who have persecuted Jewish people for centuries. It actively undermines efforts to tackle anti-Semitism."
The NSS campaigns for a gender-neutral age of consent for non-therapeutic genital cutting. In recent months we've called on the government to follow the lead of lawmakers in Iceland who proposed a law along these lines.
We also campaign for an end to the religious exemption from animal welfare laws that allows for animals to be slaughtered without prior stunning in the UK. Last year we welcomed a move in Belgium's Walloon region to ban non-stun slaughter of animals.
Image of Antonio Tajani: © European People's Party, via Flickr [CC BY 2.0]
Image of Frans Timmermans: © Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, via Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 2.0]
NSS responds to Lancashire consultation on use of non-stun meat
Posted: Wed, 28 Feb 2018 17:28
The National Secular Society has urged Lancashire County Council (LCC) to proceed with plans to stop supplying non-stun meat to schools.
The NSS said a change in the plans, which the council initially approved in a vote four months ago, would have "nationwide implications".
"If the council reverses its democratic decision to stop supplying unstunned meat in schools, it will give greater power to religious interest groups to assert their agenda on councils in other areas," the NSS wrote.
"If LCC decides to supply unstunned meat to schools, it will amount to state support for slaughter methods that are regarded worldwide as unnecessarily cruel. It will send the message that the UK prioritises the demands of orthodox religious minorities over the basic welfare needs of animals."
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 its 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 current consultation was launched in response. It will close on 7 March. The NSS is urging supporters in Lancashire to respond.
The council currently supplies non-stun halal meat to 12,000 pupils at 27 schools in Blackburn, Nelson, Burnley, Rawtenstall, Hyndburn, Clitheroe and Preston.
In its response the NSS wrote: "Councils have a duty to provide healthy and nutritious school meals. They also have a duty to ensure the food they provide is sourced ethically, in a manner that does not harm people, animals or the environment.
"They do not have a duty to cater for every religious dietary preference of every pupil's family, especially if those preferences mean contravening the advice of veterinary and farming associations, and causing harm to local businesses."
The NSS added that "the scientific consensus is clear that it is more humane to stun an animal prior to slaughter than not doing so". It pointed to calls from Government bodies, an EU scientific panel, veterinary experts and animal welfare charities to make pre-cut stunning of animals mandatory. It highlighted the fact non-stun slaughter is against the law in countries including Denmark, Iceland, New Zealand and Norway.
And it said it was "not true that all Muslims agree that unstunned meat is more 'authentically' halal than stunned meat, or that unstunned meat is more widely accepted".
The NSS's chief executive, Stephen Evans, said: "Local authorities should be free to pursue policies that promote animal welfare without being bullied into submission. I would urge the council to take a stand for animal welfare and the principle of one law for all.
"The current situation in the county is unacceptable on two levels: it leads to animals suffering unduly and it imposes a hardline interpretation of religious dogma on children. If the council changes course it will validate religious bullies' sense of entitlement and set a precedent that unreasonable demands will be accommodated. That will have implications across Lancashire and beyond.
"Ultimately this requires a national solution. The religious exemption to animal welfare laws is unjustifiable and should be rescinded. The Government should take its advice on the slaughter of farm animals from veterinary experts, not clerics."
The NSS is campaigning for an end to religious exemptions to animal welfare laws, amid concern that the non-stun slaughter industry is growing.
In November the Government told the Society it was considering introducing labelling requirements to ensure consumers know whether halal or kosher meat has been stunned before slaughter. Earlier this month the Labour party outlined proposals for mandatory method of slaughter labelling. The NSS has welcomed these suggestions but warned they do not go far enough to end unnecessary suffering.
