Halal and kosher meat in the UK

[Taf]

..the Scottish Government have admitted that the placing of non-stunned meat slaughtered in the UK into the general food chain has been illegal since 1995.

......currently restricts religious slaughter to slaughter by the Jewish method for the food of Jews and by the Muslim method for the food of Muslims.

....the legislation states that meat from animals not stunned must only be sold/ provided to Muslims/ Jews.

It is estimated that around 70% of non-stunned Kosher meat provided/ sold in the UK is not consumed by Jews.

Many Muslims and Jews support stunning for welfare reasons, it’s an insult to them for the Government to frame this as a human rights issue

http://halalfocus.net/uk-scottish-go...at-is-illegal/

Locally the halal symbol in restaurant/takeaway windows is already causing them a drop in custom among non-muslims, so they are removing the signs hoping that customers will return.

But the genie is out of the bottle now, and a restaurant owner I know well has said he will start providing a dual menu with strict controls over what meat is used in which meals.

But the law exists and so should be followed, so why isn't it?

because anyone done for it will cry prejudice and our courts being in Doormat Britain they will probably get away with it

[Gary L]

I have to admit I'm a little confused with all the stunned and non stunned, and who is and who isn't happy to consume it?

I personally am happy to eat stunned or unstunned meat makes no odds to me. You catch a fish for tea you whack it on the head you raise your own chickens you ring its neck they only really used to stun cows because they can get quite violent

I'm happy to eat halal or kosher meat.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by Chris

I'm happy to eat halal or kosher meat.

I do every time I have a curry at home - the one I use is Halal

Don't care about the meat to be honest but why have we got 2 sets of rules .If it is required to stun animals prior to slaughter for everyone else why must Jews and Muslims have a different set of rules for them

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by martyh

why must Jews and Muslims have a different set of rules for them

Ask those that wrote the regulations.

Anyway it seems that those agencies how should have been checking the rules have been applied, haven't.

Not really a faith issue here though - not much different to the fact that horse products have found their way into the food chain due to lack of checks.

Originally Posted by BenMcr

Ask those that wrote the regulations.

Anyway it seems that those agencies how should have been checking the rules have been applied, haven't.

Not really a faith issue here though - not much different to the fact that horse products have found their way into the food chain due to lack of checks.

What i mean is ,we have a rule that says animals must be stunned prior to slaughter for humane reasons so why can't everyone live by that rule ,why must there be a different rule that allows what has already been deemed inhumane practices.

Originally Posted by martyh

Don't care about the meat to be honest but why have we got 2 sets of rules .If it is required to stun animals prior to slaughter for everyone else why must Jews and Muslims have a different set of rules for them

Their religions set out rules for the way an animal is to be slaughtered. These rules are hygienic and are also moral because they force the one who kills and eats an animal to remember that he is killing and eating a living thing. Thus it is also respectful of the animal. However in more recent times it has been asserted that a metal bolt fired through the brain is more humane (though this is debatable) and therefore in most cases animals must be slaughtered in this way instead.

Those with a religious objection to the bolt-through-the-brain method are permitted to continue slaughtering by the halal or kosher method (the two are quite similar) but, in a classic piece of bureaucratic bloody-mindedness, having nevertheless accepted that kosher/halal are not so irredeemably cruel that they should be banned entirely, the bureaucrats have apparently decided that nobody who doesn't have to eat kosher/halal, should be allowed to eat kosher/halal. Which would appear to be the reason why a lot of restaurateurs and butchers have apparently been breaking the law.

Personally I think this is utterly ridiculous as the only possible way of ensuring complete compliance with the law would be to ask every customer their religion before serving them, which would be absurd. I think they just need to accept that if they are going to allow animals to be slaughtered by kosher/halal rules, they are just going to have to allow people to eat it too.