Vote totals:
Yes:
33%
No:
67%
Neutral:
0%
DEBATE: SHOULD WE BAN THE SALE OF HALAL AND KOSHER MEATS IN THE UK?
SHOULD WE BAN THE SALE OF HALAL AND KOSHER MEATS IN THE UK?
Cruelty to Animals
Halal/Kosher meat is prepared in a specific way that drains the meat of blood. This is done by hanging the animal upside down, slitting its throat and letting it bleed to death. This is incontrovertibly a slow and painful way for an animal to die, because the blood is accumulating in its spinal cord it will still be capable of feeling pain and suffering.
The right of animals not to suffer is already protected in laws governing animal testing and non-religious preparation of meat. It seems a logical step to intervene and prevent evident cruelty in this instance too.
Before going into the reasons for this, the following are three quotes from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stressing the importance of healthy meat and mercy towards animals:
- It is reported in an authentic Hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) related to his Companions the story of a man who found a dog panting with thirst. The man went down into a well, filled his shoes with water, and offered it to the dog to quench its thirst. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Then Allah was grateful to him and forgave him his sins.” The Companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Is there a reward for us with relation to animals?” He replied “There is a reward with (relation to) every living creature.”
- The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also informed us that a prostitute offered water to a dog and then Allah was grateful to her and forgave her sins. He also said, "Fear Allah when you deal with these beasts of burden. They must be healthy for riding and eating." (Reported by Abu Dawud, Ahmad, and Ibn Hibban)"
- The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has ordained kindness (or excellence) in everything. If killing is to be done, do it in the best manner, and when you slaughter, do it in the best manner by first sharpening the knife and putting the animal at ease." (Reported by Muslim)
The animal has to be slaughtered with a sharp object (knife) and in a fast way so that the pain of slaughter is minimised. Also, the Islamic manners of slaughtering include that the knife is not to be sharpened in front of the animal, and one animal should not be slaughtered in front of another.
Slaughtering is not cruel to animals, especially when compared with the other ways in which an animal could be killed.
SHOULD WE BAN THE SALE OF HALAL AND KOSHER MEATS IN THE UK?
Religious practices are something that can be overriden when there is a proven harm.
In this instance, the harm in question is that of the animals, and their suffering is very real and should be prevented.
The UK is a secular society where there is a clear separation between church and law: the government has no obligation to protect religious practices at the expense of anything else.
People who move to this country have to accept that assimilation into British society will involve some alterations to their lifestyles, and in the case of diet it is something that can be altered (for instance with vegetarianism) without damaging the integrity of their beliefs.
There is no ‘proven harm involved in the practice of slaughtering meat in a religious way. British law has no need to intervene in practices which harm nobody. Furthermore, the resolution pertains only to meats which are prepared according to religious law, yet the point opposite offers no harm which is not accrued by the mainstream consumption of meat. The debate is properly over the benefits of the mainstream meat supply over the religious meat supply.
Any harm articulated under this point must be balanced against fundamental religious liberties which are natural to all people and outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the UK has assented. The right of people to live in the manner of their choosing is essential for the preservation of democracy, and no sufficiently grave harm to give the government grounds to interfere with that right has been suggested on the other side of the case.
SHOULD WE BAN THE SALE OF HALAL AND KOSHER MEATS IN THE UK?
Animals still suffer under the secular model
Feeding them up on drugs; imprisoning them in cramped unhygenic conditions til they fester with infection; inefficient stunning/electrocution ensure that they’re often still conscious when their throats are being slit. It is naive to assume that Halal/Kosher methods of killing animals are nasty compared to the ‘clean’ ways inwhich British meat is produced today.
We shouldn’t be discriminating against those practicing their religion, we should be dealing with our own procedures first.
SHOULD WE BAN THE SALE OF HALAL AND KOSHER MEATS IN THE UK?
Halal meat is more hygienic
Maybe it’s a tiny bit more hygienic, but cooking eliminates most of these potential hazards anyway. Also, halal and kosher meat tends to lack flavour as much of the taste is lost with the blood.
Blood is a good medium for germs, bacteria, toxins, etc. Therefore the Muslim way of slaughtering is more hygienic as most of the blood containing germs, bacteria, toxins, etc. that are the cause of several diseases are eliminated.
SHOULD WE BAN THE SALE OF HALAL AND KOSHER MEATS IN THE UK?
Halal meat remains fresh for a longer time
Meat slaughtered in the Islamic way remains fresh for a longer time due to deficiency of blood in the meat as compared to other methods of slaughtering.
SHOULD WE BAN THE SALE OF HALAL AND KOSHER MEATS IN THE UK?
The animal being slaughtered does not feel pain
The swift cutting of vessels of the neck disconnects the flow of blood to the nerve of the brain responsible for pain. Thus the animal does not feel pain. While dying, the animal appears to struggle, writhe, shake and kick, not due to pain, but due to the contraction and relaxation of the muscles deficient in blood and due to the flow of blood out of the body. Kosher Meat is also a painless procedure. The knife is sharpened to within an inch of its life (no pun intended); the death is quick and painless (if the knife sticks even a tiny bit, the animal is not considered kosher). In this sense, both kosher and halal meat are kinder for the animal than the traditional method of dunking a chicken in boiling water, using a rotating blade and other horrendous slaughterhouse practices.
while it can seem barbaric, it should be done in a way that causes less distress to the animal
by banning halal it will seem discriminatory against those who eat halal