24 January 2018

Council to reconsider ban on halal meat in schools

A council's plans to stop its schools from serving unstunned halal meat are to be reconsidered.

Lancashire County Council voted to stop using the meat in schools in October, leading Lancashire Council of Mosques (LCM) to seek a judicial review.

LCM said it had received a council letter stating the ban, which was due to begin in December, would be delayed.

Council leader Geoff Driver said there would be a "wider consultation... to inform future policy".

Unstunned halal meat is currently supplied to 12,000 pupils at 27 council-run schools in Blackburn, Nelson, Burnley, Rawtenstall, Hyndburn, Clitheroe and Preston.

More than 80% of halal meat in the UK is pre-stunned and is acceptable to many Muslims, according to the British Veterinary Association. [BBC] Read more