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
ECJ: non-stun slaughter breaches ‘highest welfare standards’
Posted: Tue, 26 Feb 2019 15:59
Meat from animals slaughtered without pre-stunning does not meet sufficiently high animal welfare standards to be labelled organic, the European Court of Justice has found.
The EU's top court today said non-stun slaughter "fails to observe the highest animal welfare standards" and breaks regulations on organic food which require suffering to be minimised.
The court said scientific studies had shown that pre-stunning "compromises animal welfare the least at the time of killing".
It said slaughtering animals without stunning is "insufficient to remove all of the animal's pain, distress and suffering as effectively as slaughter with pre-stunning".
It also said religious non-stun slaughter methods were "not tantamount, in terms of serving a high level of animal welfare at the time of killing, to slaughter with pre-stunning".
It said slaughter without pre-stunning requires an accurate cut of the throat with a sharp knife to minimise the animal's suffering. But it added that this technique does not "allow any suffering to be kept to a minimum".
The National Secular Society said the UK government should "take note" of the ruling. In the UK, all animals must be stunned before slaughter but exemptions are given to animals slaughtered to meet Jewish or Muslim dietary preferences.
The case was brought by a French animal welfare group concerned by non-stun halal beef being labelled organic. The ruling means the EU's organic production logo cannot be placed on meat derived from non-stun slaughter.
European Council regulations require "the application of high animal welfare standards" for products to be labelled organic. They also say "any suffering, including mutilation, shall be kept to a minimum during the entire life of the animal, including at the time of slaughter".
The court said it was "important to ensure that consumers are reassured" that products bearing the organic logo "have actually been obtained in observance of the highest standards, in particular in the area of animal welfare".
The case was brought by the French animal welfare group Oeuvre d'Assistance aux Betes d'Abattoirs (OABA). OABA had lobbied France's minister for agriculture to drop an 'organic farming' label from beef products from cattle slaughtered without pre-stunning.
The ruling contradicts the opinion given by EU advocate general Nils Wahl in September that the 'organic farming' certification "cannot be refused to products from the slaughter of animals without stunning".
Stephen Evans, chief executive of the NSS, welcomed today's ruling.
"By withholding the organic label from meat derived from non-stun slaughter, the Court of Justice is ensuring animal welfare standards are kept at the heart of this accreditation.
"Consumers can continue to trust that meat bearing this logo is from animals that have been given the highest standard of care, including at the point of slaughter.
"The UK government needs to take note of this ruling and acknowledge the importance of consumer choice. Meat from unstunned animals is still being supplied to the general public without any information about the method of slaughter. As a minimum, meat from animals slaughtered without stunning must be labelled as such to give consumers a genuine choice.
"The government should also note the EU's acknowledgement that non-stun slaughter objectively causes unnecessary suffering. For this reason, the UK should follow the example of other countries around the world that have banned non-stun slaughter."
Non-stun slaughter is banned in a number of EU countries, including Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, and Sweden. In January a ban on non-stun slaughter came into effect in the Flanders region of Belgium.
Britain risks becoming a ‘hotbed of non-stun slaughter’, warns NSS
Posted: Fri, 15 Feb 2019 10:30
The National Secular Society has warned the government against turning the UK into "a hotbed of non-stun halal slaughter" after it emerged that a large proportion of non-stun sheep meat is exported.
Figures from Food Standards Agency (FSA) 2018 slaughterhouse survey reveal that in 2018, over 94 million cattle, sheep and poultry were slaughtered without being stunned first in England and Wales.
Nearly a quarter (24%) of sheep meat that was not stunned before slaughter was exported from the UK. According to the British Veterinary Association, this equates to around 750,000 sheep being slaughtered without prior stunning per year for consumption outside the UK.
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.
The shechita (Jewish) method of slaughter is exclusively non-stun in the UK while halal slaughter is comprised of both stun and non-stun methods of slaughter.
The latest FSA figures reveal that the majority of sheep slaughtered in England and Wales (71%) are slaughtered by a halal method (both stun and non- stun). According to the Office for National Statistics, around 5% of the UK population is Muslim.
The government has said it would "prefer all animals to be pre-stunned before slaughter on welfare grounds, but it observes the rights of religious communities".
In August last year, the NSS criticised a £25m export agreement to supply 50,000 lambs killed without stunning to Saudi Arabia, warning it would "normalise the mistreatment of animals". The government has since announced a further £6m deal to sell sheep meat to India.
Stephen Evans, the NSS's chief executive, said: "All animals must be stunned before slaughter, without exception. For as long as a derogation exists, the export of animals that have been slaughtered without stunning should be prohibited.
"The fact that the religious exemption compromises animal welfare in the UK is unacceptable in itself. It is further concerning that the exemption is being abused to boost the UK's halal non-stun slaughter industry. This certainly goes against the spirit of the exemption, if not the letter of it. Becoming a hotbed of non-stun slaughter would not be a good look for post-Brexit Britain."
Earlier this week NSS honorary associate Kerry McCarthy MP asked a minister what effect the UK's recent agreement with Saudi Arabia would have on the number of animals slaughtered without prior stunning. David Rutley, from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, gave an evasive answer.
In response to the figures the British Veterinary Association and Compassion in World Farming have also called on the government to stop exporting non-stun meat while the religious exemption to the animal welfare laws exists. Both bodies also said ending non-stun slaughter entirely would be preferable.
Earlier this month the BVA and animal welfare group the RSPCA published an open letter to the government calling for the end of non-stun slaughter.
A number of other European states, including Holland and Germany, have explicitly prohibited the export of animals that were killed without stunning.
Countries that ban slaughter without any form of stunning include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden.
