I wasn't sure if a thread on this had already been started so if it has I apologise. I read this in today's Mail Online and have to say I am glad Britain's Chief Vet is voicing his opinion. I think we should follow Denmarks example. This is 2014 and we should strive for modern standards for our animal welfare and for food production. At the very least make sure humanely killed meat is marked as such and Kosher/Halal meat is labelled as such so the public can make an informed choice on what it buys. If indeed it is true that the 3 methods of killing animals were producing meat that gets mixed up together, then I find that very worrying. I don't want to eat meat that has been produced by inhumane methods. Similarly Muslim and Jewish people need to know their meat has had the requisite prayers and treatment. I am sure if any are vets they would know the slaughter methods dictated by their beliefs are inhumane. I understand that Halal meat now receives an immediate post cut stun in recognition of the suffering but this is not so for Kosher meat.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2574456/Stop-slashing-animals-throats-ritual-slaughters-halal-kosher-meat-says-new-leader-Britains-vets.html

Have I offended any one by this thread? Please answer if have. I don't mean to but just want to hear other peoples' views on this. A lot of us eat meat and me for example want to know it is treated ( in my view) humanely through its entirety.

I was listening to a report about this yesterday; a rabbi maintained that the animals don't suffer as they fall in unconsciousness shortly after the incision is made. Apparently, some halal butchers have started stunning animals before slaughter though.

Well, scientifically based findings and the scientists that are the vets say they do suffer if not stunned. Who would you think should know best- the vet or the Rabbi? Halal meat is now stunned always after the throat cut is made. If they are now stunning prior to it that is even better.

I think it barbaric the way certain religions slaughter their meat. I see no reason for it in this day and age.

Ditto - we need to follow Denmark's stance on this and do it fast.I'll look out an e-petition about it.

Please sign and share on Facebook if you have an account. So far there are only 20 signatures on this e-petition which closes on 14th March.

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/46943

This seems extreme and against a balanced decision on what meat to provide.Choice and the freedom to choose has also been taken away. It seems to me that how it is killed is what lies behind it and is entirely more for those who don't eat pork products. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2575724/Parents-fury-pork-sausages-banned-school-menu-replaced-halal-meat.html

There's no hope with this attitude reported this morning. If this is Mr C's stance on things is it reflective of the majority of the population's attitude? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2579638/I-kosher-animal-killing-says-David-Cameron-PM-says-defend-religious-slaughter-animals-Britain-trip-Israel.html

Camoron is out of touch and deluded. If there's a band-wagon he'll jump on it, which is why he starts many things (talks about them) but finishes virtually nothing. The man is shallow, and vacuous. It's high time he realised that the UK pay his wages and expect him to look after our interests and to put the UK population and their wishes first.

Frankly, the sooner the Eton educated fool is replaced the better. Sadly, I see virtually nobody in any leadership contest that I trust, or think up to the job. - I am very undecided about Farrage, though he does seem our best bet at the moment.

I despair too but how dare he use his position to decide on this very serious matter regarding animal welfare. If Defra. the RSPCA and the Vets won't act then at the very very least I would like to see meat clearly labelled as ' humanely slaughtered ' so that I can make my own stand. How do you know an animal has been slaughtered humanely or cruelly as with the Kosher and Halal methods?. We simply don't know, meat just says ' slaughtered in Uk ' or elsewhere.
Farmers should make a stand of their own too. Most are responsible and take a keen interest in their animals' welfare to provide quality meat but may be they should take that a step further and insist their stock is dispatched in a humane manner and not allow it to provide for the Kosher or Halal markets?
Some one I know started out in pork production. She bought 6 piglets who all lived very happily in a free range organic way. When it came time to make the bacon she actively searched out by visiting different abattoirs and watching the process with her own eyes. She didn't send hers until she found one which handled the stock with calm control and consideration all to the soft sound of classical music. She also went with them so they weren't just handed over to strangers. The pork production line is still thriving on her property and she still attends their final moments.

Well done Anthony Worrell-Tompson, I wish more would adopt his stance and make sure they only source humanely slaughtered meat. I am now doubting I'll eat a burger again, have a read of this in today Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581918/Meat-cattle-slaughtered-cruel-kosher-ceremony-high-street-burger.html

I think that the bottom line here is meat needs to be clearly marked as to how it was slaughtered to allow consumers to choose and not have a method inflicted upon them that may conflict with beliefs or personal choices. We spend too much time walking on eggshells to make a point clear.

I wish I had copied and pasted an article on this very fact at the weekend but didn't because I didn't think people were as ' moved ' about it as I am. The article quoted from an Irish Chap who owns and runs a slaughter house in Ireland. He said they slaughter about 600 cows a week and many are by the Kosher method. He didn't mention other animals.From my memory he didn't mention the Halal process but then it is recorded that all Halal meat is stunned now after stick/slit. This is a part way improvement in my mind. Anyway, he said that only 2/3rds of the carcass is sent for the Kosher meat trade as only certain parts of the animal are deemed safe and the rest has to go somewhere- MacDonald's, Burgers etc .His words were' I am running a business here, it has to used some how.' Clear labeling is what I want- how my meat was ' treated ' as it became prepared for my family's dinner.

Today's Mail Online posted this article on the welfare of our Chickens destined for the large Supermarket shelves. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2585833/Revealed-How-supermarket-chicken-shrunk-millions-birds-suffering-worse-conditions.html

We have so much to answer for. Our demands are evidenced here in what the Chickens endure to satisfy those demands. Buy Farm Fresh Organic if you can.

The DM's reporting is often poor but in this case it is entirely accurate. It sent two under cover reporters posing as meat buyers to this Abattoir in Norfolk. Mr C has stated he has no intention of banning religious slaughter in the UK. Aside from that which I take exception to as he is making a blanket decision for the British Nation, I do feel very strongly that The BVA should be listened to and Defra should enforce better animal welfare in these places. Start with Supervision of the slaughtermen and a post stun after cut regime. Then we can look more closely at the scientific evidence of pain.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2603360/Horror-halal-slaughterhouse-Shocking-undercover-film-shows-needless-suffering-livestock-butchered-without-stunned-first.html

If you want welfare to be upgraded and have a real awareness of how welfare is poor now- please sign this e-petiton. Not only that- share it on Facebook and Twitter. https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/63193/signature/new

If you know farmers and people with livestock- show them this and ask them to make sure their animals don't get dispatched this way. Ask them to find out where their animals go and how they go.

Subway are now joining in with the push to eat only Halal meat. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2616576/Subway-removes-ham-pork-nearly-200-stores-strong-demand-Muslims-eat-Halal-meat.html I won't be going to them again; I've only ever been once anyway. This does it for me and further more, I understand that the Burger Chains buy meat from companies that do Halal and Kosher slaughter aiming to be more user friendly. These Burger chains use up the 3/4 left from Kosher beef carcasses because only the forefront of the beast is accepted in a strict Jewish diet. I like many just want to eat meat that is killed in a humane way, why aren't food manufacturers attending to that need first?