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
Poland overturns ban on non-stun slaughter of animals in favour of religious privilege
Posted: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 16:36
The Polish Constitutional Tribunal has overturned a ban on the religious (non-stun) slaughter of animals.
In January 2013, the Polish courts had placed a de facto ban on religious slaughter, by abolishing an exemption on humane slaughter requirements for Jews and Muslims.
European wide animal welfare legislation requires all animals to be stunned before slaughter in order to minimise suffering. However, a derogation permits member states to allow non-stunning in the case of slaughter in observance with religious beliefs.
The Polish ban was appealed by the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland, among other groups. In July 2013 an attempt to legalise religious slaughter through legislation failed, leaving court action inevitable.
The Constitutional Tribunal has now sided with the campaign group, agreeing that the ban infringed the rights of minority religious communities to practise their faith and traditions.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, director of the European Jewish Association, was said to be relieved at the ruling, which he said "prevents a dangerous precedent" that would have affected Jews across Europe. Reports indicate that the Tribunal ruled on a petition which claimed the ban was illegal under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, described the court ruling as "regrettable". He said: "Whilst we support the right to religious freedom, it is not an absolute right – and in the interests of avoiding unnecessary pain and distress to animals it seems reasonable to expect it to be limited in this instance."
However, Mr Evans added that the ruling served to strengthen the case for mandatory EU-wide labelling of meat from religious slaughter: "If religious groups are to be granted exemptions from animal welfare laws, it is essential that meat from non-stun slaughter is accurately labelled enabling consumers to avoid such products if they so wish. At the moment such labelling is not required, and this needs to change."
NSS backs petition to end non-stun slaughter
Posted: Fri, 2 May 2014 09:54
The National Secular Society is backing a new campaign by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) to end non-stun slaughter of animals to improve animal welfare.
A petition launched by the BVA with the support of the RSPCA calls on the Government to ban slaughter without pre-stunning for all animals.
EU and UK law requires all animals to be pre-stunned before slaughter in order to minimise suffering. The only exemption is for religious communities to meet Jewish and Muslim religious requirements.
Organisers of the petition make clear that their concerns do not relate to religious belief but to the animal welfare compromise of non-stun slaughter.
The National Secular Society has long campaigned for an end to the exemption that allows religious communities to slaughter animals without pre-stunning.
Many British Muslims accept electrical pre-stunning and Food Standards Agency figures from 2012 show that more than 80% of animals are stunned before slaughter for Halal meat in the UK. The practice is not accepted under strict Jewish traditions and animals slaughtered for Kosher meat are never stunned before slaughter.
There is currently no requirement under UK or EU law for the meat from animals slaughtered without stunning to be labelled as such. As a result, meat from non-stun slaughter methods is routinely sold on the general market.
The petition also calls for clearer slaughter-method labelling and post-cut stunning to improve welfare until such time as non-stun slaughter is outlawed.
Launching the epetition BVA President and veterinary surgeon Robin Hargreaves said:
"BVA has long believed that slaughter without pre-stunning unnecessarily compromise animal welfare at the time of death. It affects millions of animals every year and action is long overdue.
"When the issue hit the headlines recently we were overwhelmed by the letters of support from members of the public as well as our own members, so we hope to get a lot of support for our campaign."
David Bowles, RSPCA head of public affairs, said:
"We are supporting the BVA's petition calling for an end to non-stun slaughter because it is a practice that can cause suffering to millions of farm animals in the UK.
"We recognise that religious belief and practices should be respected but we also believe that animals should be slaughtered in the most humane way possible."
Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said:
"The scientific consensus is clear that it is more humane to stun an animal prior to slaughter than not to do so. We therefore call on the Government to ensure that animal slaughter regulations designed to protect the welfare of animals are applied equally and without exception."
If, as the BVA hopes, the epetition achieves 100,000 signatures it will be considered for a debate in the House of Commons.
