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 seeks end to religious exemption amid sharp rise in non-stun slaughter
Posted: Fri, 6 Oct 2017 11:09
The National Secular Society has written to Environment Secretary Michael Gove urging him to remove the religious exemption from animal welfare legislation following a significant rise in non-stun 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.
In 2013, just 15% of sheep and goats were not pre-stunned, but this rose to almost a quarter (24.4%) of all slaughters between April and June this year.
The number of chickens slaughtered without pre-stunning has soared from 3% in 2013 to 18.5% in 2017, the FSA figures also revealed. One percent of cattle did not receive a pre-slaughter stun. In total, only 81.5% of animals were stunned prior to slaughter.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) said the huge increase in the number of sheep, goats and poultry that are not stunned or not stunned effectively before slaughter was "a major animal welfare issue".
Both the BVA and the RSPCA support calls for the re-introduction of the law that guarantees all animals are stunned before slaughter.
UK animal welfare regulations require animals to be stunned before slaughter in order to minimise animal suffering. The only exemption is for religious communities to meet Jewish and Muslim dietary preferences. In its letter the NSS reiterated its call for an end to this exemption to ensure that all animals are effectively stunned before slaughter.
The Society raised concerns that the supply of meat from animals that have not been stunned is massively outstripping demand from the communities for which it is intended. Meat from non-stun slaughter is routinely entering the mainstream market unlabelled.
The NSS said the current absence of labelling deprives consumers of key information and fuels the demand for meat from slaughter without stunning. It added that if religious slaughter is allowed to continue, clear method of slaughter labelling must be introduced to minimise the number of animals killed under the exemption and ensure customers can make informed choices about the food they purchase.
The Halal Food Authority (HFA), a halal certification body which (like a majority of Muslims) accepts pre-stunning, told the NSS it was aware of increasing demand for non-stun meat in the UK. The UK's other main halal certification body, the Halal Monitoring Committee, insists animals must be "alive and healthy" at the time of slaughter to be "genuinely halal".
Unlike halal, the Jewish method of slaughter, known as shechita, does not involve pre-slaughter stunning at all.
The data is the latest of a series of recent revelations on the subject of meat from non-stun slaughter. The NSS is currently calling on Lancashire Council to end its policy of routinely supplying unstunned halal meat for school dinners across the county.
Developers of a new halal takeaway app due to be launched early next year say a unique filter will allow customers to choose halal to their specific needs, so they can "choose a level they are conformable with".
In July the Food Standards Agency (FSA) announced it will publish quarterly data on the number of abattoirs using non-stun slaughter as well as how many animals are slaughtered without stunning.
And the government has announced that mandatory CCTV is to be introduced in all slaughterhouses, with vets being given unrestricted access to the footage. Abattoirs found to be failing welfare standards could face a criminal investigation, staff licenses suspended or revoked, or enforcement letters.
Mr Gove said the new plans for mandatory cameras, which are to be phased in this year, would ensure Britain is a "global leader" in animal welfare standards as the country leaves the EU.
NSS urges councillors to stop forcing non-stunned halal meat on pupils
Posted: Fri, 22 Sep 2017 11:20
The National Secular Society has written to councillors in Lancashire urging them to stop imposing unstunned meat from religious slaughter methods on school pupils.
The letter comes as Lancashire County Council prepares to vote on whether to end its use of halal meat which has not been stunned before slaughter in school dinners.
Geoff Driver, the council's leader, has called a full council vote on the issue on 26 October. He said he believed it was "abhorrent" and "really, really cruel" to kill animals without stunning them first. Presenting the issue at a full council meeting, he added, would allow members to "vote with their conscience".
Unstunned halal meat is currently supplied to 12,000 pupils at 27 schools in Blackburn, Nelson, Burnley, Rawtenstall, Hyndburn, Clitheroe and Preston.
There was an immediate backlash to Cllr Driver's decision from the Lancashire Council of Mosques (LCM). Salim Mulla, a Blackburn with Darwen councillor and chairman of the LCM's halal sub-committee, said the situation was "very unfortunate". And Abdul Qureshi, LCM's chair, said a decision to stop supplying unstunned meat would "create a huge difficulty".
"People will pull out of school meals and people who should eat properly will be deprived of that," said Mr Qureshi. "For us it's a matter of faith. For Geoff Driver it is his feelings."
He accused Cllr Driver of running "a personal crusade". Cllr Driver said if that were true he would have made the decision in the council's cabinet, and added: "I am not the only one who has such strong views".
In 2012 the council briefly stopped serving meat which had not been stunned in its schools after it changed supplier. On that occasion LCM called on Muslim families to boycott the meat that was served, claiming it did not meet its interpretation of Islamic law. A spokesman for LCM also said "the county council should pick suppliers who are accredited to the Lancashire Council of Mosques".
A Halal Meat Supplies Task Group was set up in response. It recommended that the council should accept both stunned and non-stunned meat. Mr Qureshi said the "criteria" were agreed upon after "intense discussions" with Lancashire's Islamic 'scholars'.
In its letter, the NSS urged councillors to ensure the local authority only supplies meat from animals that have been pre-stunned in accordance with animal welfare standards.
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. Under UK law, meat from animals killed under the exemption is only supposed to be for the consumption of Muslims and Jews.
The NSS is campaigning for an end to religious exemptions to animal welfare laws, amid concern that the non-stun slaughter industry is growing. 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. In May Belgium's Walloon region voted to ban the slaughter of animals without pre-stunning.
Stephen Evans, NSS campaigns director, commended Councillor Driver for "raising an important issue in a reasonable way in the face of aggressive silencing tactics".
"We would urge the Council not be bullied into an unethical and regressive policy decision by self-appointed leaders claiming to speak on behalf of Muslims. The majority of halal meat in Britain complies with the law on stunning. Most Muslims are clearly willing to comply with the law.
"Even if this were not true, religion should not be an excuse to get around common rules. Animal welfare specialists should make decisions about which methods of slaughter are appropriate, not religious groups.
"It is particularly troublesome that the council of mosques wants to impose its religious dietary preferences on school children. Those in positions of power should take a stand for the principle of one law for all."
