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 government over sale of non-stun meat to Saudi Arabia
Posted: Wed, 22 Aug 2018 12:17
The National Secular Society has said a government agreement to sell meat from lambs slaughtered without stunning to Saudi Arabia will "normalise the mistreatment of animals".
According to Vet Record magazine, the Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC) will certify meat sold to Saudi as part of a £25m deal announced in February. HMC refuses to certify meat as halal when it has been stunned before slaughter.
The deal, which was initially announced by food minister George Eustice, brings a 20-year embargo on lamb exports to Saudi Arabia to an end. It has only now emerged that the meat will not be stunned.
NSS campaigns officer Megan Manson said the deal would "empower a group which undermines animal welfare in Britain and normalise the mistreatment of animals".
"The government shouldn't be selling millions of pounds' worth of meat from animals treated inhumanely in the name of religion. Nor should the Halal Monitoring Committee's fundamentalist interpretation of what constitutes halal meat play any part in government decisions.
"Animal welfare laws exist for a reason. If they are important enough for some to follow, they must be important enough for all to follow. Instead of striking deals like this the government should roll back the religious exemption to animal welfare laws so veterinary experts, not religious groups, set the standard on the treatment of farm animals."
Most halal meat in the UK is stunned before slaughter but NSS research has revealed that non-stunned halal is widespread in UK supermarkets.
In November the government told the NSS it was considering introducing labelling requirements to ensure consumers know whether halal or kosher meat has been stunned before slaughter. The NSS welcomed the move but called on the government to end the religious exemption to animal welfare laws.
Animal welfare groups have also criticised the deal with Saudi Arabia. Marc Cooper, the head of the RSPCA's farm animal department, called it "very disappointing news" and said the government should "follow other European nations and ban the export of meat from non-stunned animals".
The Liberal Democrats' food spokesperson Tim Farron said the government had shown "extreme negligence" in agreeing the deal.
"We have a responsibility to push forward the global animal welfare agenda, by ensuring farm animals are treated as humanely as possible and paying full regard to standards when establishing trade deals.
"This does not bode well, as post-Brexit the UK will inevitably receive pressure from new trading partners to open markets to low-welfare animal products."
The RSPCA, Compassion in World Farming and the British Veterinary Association have all criticised non-stun slaughter, along with many animal welfare experts. The Farm Animal Welfare Council – a UK government body – has said the practice should be banned. The EU's Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare has said "pre-cut stunning should always be performed".
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said the deal was not "a move to increase sales of non-stun meat" and denied it will lead to animal welfare standards being "watered down".
Meanwhile Labour MP Kerry McCarthy, a former shadow environment secretary, criticised the deal but implied support for the religious exemption when meat is consumed domestically. "The exemption is clearly there to meet the needs of our own religious communities, not those abroad," she said.
NSS welcomes Lancashire vote to end supply of unstunned meat to schools
Posted: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 15:01
The National Secular Society has welcomed Lancashire County Council's vote to stop supplying unstunned halal meat to schools.
The Council's cabinet voted on Thursday to implement their resolution made in October 2017 to cease the supply of halal meat that was not stunned before slaughter, with the exception of poultry.
Despite assertions from Councillor Azhar Ali, who supports the supply of non-stunned halal meat, that the council would face legal challenges "at some stage" over the decision, the council decided on animal welfare grounds to only supply stunned meat to schools.
The full council vote in October was called by council leader Geoff Driver, who said, "This is an animal welfare issue, nothing more nothing less."
He added: "In my view, with modern methods of reversible stunning, there is no need for animals to suffer during slaughter.
"This view is actually shared by the vast majority of Muslims in this country where 84% of halal meat comes from animals that were stunned before they were slaughtered."
During Thursday's meeting, Cllr Driver emphasised that schools would still be able to procure unstunned meat from other sources.
Unstunned halal meat is currently supplied by the council to 12,000 pupils at 27 schools in Blackburn, Nelson, Burnley, Rawtenstall, Hyndburn, Clitheroe and Preston.
Following the October vote in favour of ceasing supplies of unstunned halal, the Lancashire Council of Mosques (LCM) said it would launch a judicial review and encourage a boycott of school meals. Subsequently, council leaders said in January that they would reconsider the policy and launched a public consultation.
The council received over 8,500 responses to the consultation, including a response from the National Secular Society. The report into the consultation highlighted that LCM had made a concerted effort to prompt responses supporting their position by asking people to submit a template response provided on their website. The council received approximately 1,300 online responses and 705 paper responses using this template.
The report also stated, "The findings presented in this report are not representative of the views of the population of Lancashire and should only be taken to represent the views of people who were made aware of the consultation, and who had the opportunity and felt compelled to respond."
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.
In its response to the consultation, the NSS wrote: "If the council reverses its 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. It will also set a direction of travel for society as a whole with regards to animal welfare policy.
"If LCC decide 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."
It added: "While increasing numbers of countries are deciding to ban non-stun slaughter, the UK will be moving in the opposite direction to the current trend in developed economies."
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans welcomed the result of Thursday's vote, saying: "It's reassuring to see Lancashire councilors voting to pursue the Council's ethical policy on the provision of halal meat in schools, and facing down orchestrated efforts to ensure school meals in the county comply with a hardline form of Islam.
"Under this policy halal meat will still be supplied to meet the dietary preferences of pupils from Muslim backgrounds, but will be from animals slaughtered humanely, and in accordance with animal welfare standards. This is a compromise that should be acceptable to everyone.
"Ideally, decisions over whether to supply non-stun meat should now be taken out of the lands of local authorities. The growth of non-stun slaughter in the UK is dragging animal welfare backwards and its time the law was changed to ensure all animals have to be stunned before they are killed."
