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 presses government on non-stun meat as schools row intensifies
Posted: Wed, 21 Nov 2018 15:25
The National Secular Society has called on the government to take action to end the supply of non-stun meat amid growing public opposition to its supply in schools.
The NSS has written to Lord Gardiner, the parliamentary under-secretary for rural affairs, to call for repeal of the religious exemption to the animal welfare laws. The exemption means animals may be killed without stunning for religious reasons.
The NSS also called for a requirement to label non-stun meat while the exemption is in place.
The letter comes after NSS research revealed that at least 17 councils across the UK supply non-stunned halal meat to at least 140 schools.
This week thousands of people have signed a petition to end the supply of non-stun meat to schools in the West Yorkshire district of Kirklees after the NSS's report on the subject. Kirklees Council supplies non-stun meat to at least 40 schools.
The NSS's findings also prompted a report in The Times on Monday which revealed that schools are supplying non-stun halal without telling parents about the origins of the meat.
In the letter to Lord Gardiner NSS chief executive Stephen Evans urged the government "to put a stop to further unnecessary animal cruelty by ending the religious exemption that allows animals to be slaughtered without pre-stunning".
He added that while non-stun slaughter is allowed, the government should ensure "any meat from animals slaughtered without pre-stunning is clearly labelled".
Mr Evans noted that non-stun meat is "routinely being consumed on the general market by unwitting members of the public who are neither Muslim nor Jewish" as a result of the lack of labelling.
The NSS requested a meeting with Lord Gardiner to discuss the issue.
The petition in Kirklees calls on the council to follow the example of Lancashire County Council, which recently voted to uphold its decision to stop supplying non-stun non-poultry meat to schools.
Petition starter Aleksandar Lukic wrote: "Everyone has the right to observe and practice their religion in a free society, but it is clearly unethical for Kirklees Council to serve non-stunned meat to public schoolchildren. Our council has a duty to treat animals in a more humane way."
The petition notes that the council has refused to name the schools affected and that most Muslims are content with pre-stunning.
The consensus among animal welfare experts is that stunning animals before slaughter is more humane than not doing so. Veterinary experts say non-stun slaughter causes "very significant pain and distress" and raises "serious animal welfare concerns".
This week Simon Doherty, president of the British Veterinary Association, told The Times: "All animals should be stunned before slaughter in order to reduce their suffering and improve their welfare. If slaughter without stunning is still to be permitted, any unstunned meat or fish must be clearly labelled to enable consumers to fully understand the choice they are making."
The Farm Animal Welfare Committee, which advises the government, says animals slaughtered without pre-stunning are likely to experience "very significant pain and distress" before they become unconscious.
The EU's scientific panel on animal health and welfare has stated: "Due to the serious animal welfare concerns associated with slaughter without stunning, pre-cut stunning should always be performed."
The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe has called non-stun slaughter "unacceptable under any circumstances".
The RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming also advocate for all animals to be stunned prior to slaughter.
The UK government recently agreed a £25m deal to export non-stunned halal meat to Saudi Arabia, a decision which the NSS said would "normalise the mistreatment of animals".
Meanwhile this week the trade magazine Retail Times noted that the halal brand Humza had tripled its range in Tesco and Morrisons. Humza's website says it applies the "halal principle" that means the animals are "healthy and alive prior to slaughter process".
Humza's meat is certified as halal by a group called the Halal Monitoring Board, which says it does not "work in favour of stunning" and "most" of its outlets are "stun free".
In January the NSS revealed that meat from animals which have not been stunned before slaughter was widespread in UK supermarkets.
NSS welcomes Lancashire decision on non-stunned meat in schools
Posted: Thu, 18 Oct 2018 16:12
The National Secular Society has welcomed a vote from councillors in Lancashire which has ratified its decision to stop supplying most non-stunned halal meat to schools.
The council passed a motion to stop the supply of non-stunned non-poultry meat at a meeting on Thursday afternoon with 49 votes in favour, 23 against and nine abstentions.
The council originally took the decision in October 2017, but has continued the supply in the interim as it undertook a lengthy consultation process.
The council's leader, Geoff Driver, said this week he had referred the matter back for another vote after "further consideration to the strength of feeling on both sides".
Lancashire County Council currently supplies non-stunned halal meat to 27 schools with a total of 12,000 pupils.
The NSS urged councillors to stop the supply of non-stun meat throughout the process, including by writing to them about it this week.
And on Thursday the NSS revealed that at least 18 councils across the UK (including Lancashire) were supplying non-stunned meat to schools. A number of councils have explicitly ruled out the supply of non-stun meat on animal welfare grounds.
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans welcomed the vote in Lancashire.
"Lancashire is quite right to consider the animal welfare issues surrounding the supply of halal meat. The consensus is clear that it is more humane to stun an animal prior to slaughter than not to do so, and insisting on this standard in catering contracts is the ethical thing to do.
"It would have been hugely disappointing to see an ethical catering policy abandoned because of special pleading from religious hardliners. Where schools serve halal meat it will be pre-stunned. This should be a much more acceptable position for anyone who believes in keeping religious fundamentalism out of our schools.
"Now the government needs to make it easier for councils to resist this pressure by repealing the religious exemption to the animal welfare laws."
The vote in Lancashire was an unwhipped free vote, although the ruling Conservative party provided the bulk of support for the motion. During the debate beforehand several councillors said the issue was a straightforward question of animal welfare.
Conservative councillor Andrew Snowden criticised the nature of the debate, saying he said he had been accused of 'Islamophobia' by Labour councillors for standing up for animal welfare.
He said such accusations demeaned the seriousness of the word and he would not be cowed by character assassinations, insults and attempt to intimidate him.
Green party councillor Gina Dowding said she would vote against the motion, arguing that passing it could cause "community disharmony and worse".
Driver said the council would work with Muslim groups to mitigate against any "unwarranted consequences" of the decision.
In 2012 the council briefly stopped serving meat which had not been stunned in its schools after it changed supplier. On that occasion Lancashire Council of Mosques (LCM) asked all Muslim families to boycott Lancashire school meals completely, not only those affected by the ban of halal un-stunned meat.
LCM campaigned vigorously against the council's latest decision.
