There is irrefutable scientific evidence that animals slaughtered without stunning suffer extreme pain, distress and anxiety. The European Food Safety Authority has said that: "due to the serious animal welfare concerns associated with slaughter without stunning, pre-cut stunning should always be performed".
Stunning an animal before it is slaughtered is vitally important as it renders that animal insensible to pain before being killed. Currently, more than 80% of animals slaughtered for halal meat in the UK are stunned before being killed. This figure alone shows that there is widespread acceptance within the Muslim community that pre-slaughter stunning can be halal.
As it stands, the other 20% or so of these animals will have their throats cut whilst fully conscious. These animals can be in extreme pain for minutes. All animals slaughtered for kosher meat will be conscious when killed.
[A COMMENT] Not sure electrocution by 100,000 volts or a pneumatic steel rod penetrating the brain is any more or less humane..but I think we both would agree that religion shouldn't be the decider, science should. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more
