Outcry from muslims and jews to renewed government attack on halal meat

Muslim and Jewish groups have responded angrily to comments from the incoming president of the British Veterinary Association, Mr John Blackwell, who has condemned the methods of animal slaughter required by these two religions. His comments come after hints from Government insiders that the Coalition was moving to ban the practice in pre-General Election legislation designed to appeal to voters who think that “England’s traditional values” should be upheld at the expense of “immigrants’ practices”. This is not only knee-jerk racist opportunism: it’s also rich coming from a Party which backs traditional fox hunting!

Mr Blackwell appeared to be conciliatory, saying that he wanted to hold discussions with relevant religious groups to find a compromise solution which accommodates religious teaching but also prioritises the welfare of the animal. He spoke about labelling food to make methods of slaughter very clear and allow the consumer a choice. However, he also clearly stated that a ban on slaughter without pre-stunning was on the way – making something of a mockery of his call for compromise. Specifically, Mr Blackwell stated, “I don’t think an outright ban is a long way off, there is enough of a view that this practice is inhumane and causes suffering at the time of death.” Mr Blackwell said he understood that the issue was sensitive, but that religious teaching had been devised several hundreds of years ago – since when opinions on animal welfare as well as the science of slaughter have moved on. Meanwhile, the Campaign Director of Shechita UK, Shimon Cohen, responded on behalf of the Jewish community. Shechita campaigns to keep religious slaughter for Jewish people who observe this requirement. Mr Cohen said, “This is an extraordinary dereliction of duty from Mr Blackwell and the BVA. Of the countless pressing animal welfare issues that we are faced with today, he has chosen to focus on an issue which is not supported by scientific consensus and which affects a tiny minority of animals. The fact is that religious slaughter, is at least as humane as the industrialised methods used in conventional mechanical slaughter which include electrocution, gassing, shooting, trapping, drowning and clubbing.” Mr Cohen also indicated that the Government was guilty of double standards. Religious slaughter carried out without pre-stunning is very much a minority issue, but the Government has cut back on monitoring conventional slaughterhouses, with the result that undercover campaigners have reported of systematic abuse of animals there. Mr Cohen added, “The kind of scenes uncovered at these abattoirs are unheard of where kosher meat is concerned in this country because animal welfare is at the heart of everything that we do. It is scandalous that, once again, in the context of such pervasive cruelty in so many abattoirs, that the BVA continue to single out faith communities for criticism.”