Meat from animals which have not been stunned before slaughter is widespread in UK supermarkets, National Secular Society research has found.
The NSS examined the policies of 11 supermarket chains and their online produce range, and found that the majority require all meat for their own-brand products to be pre-stunned. This is in line with animal welfare legislation requiring animals to be stunned before slaughter to minimise suffering. But several sell non-stunned meat from other brands, and only two credibly commit to selling meat only from animals that are pre-stunned.
Three supermarkets – Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco – sold halal meat from animals which were not stunned, without clear labelling to indicate this. Five of the supermarkets – Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose – sold kosher meat online. All kosher meat is from unstunned animals.
Waitrose sells unstunned meat despite a policy which misleadingly implies otherwise. Waitrose's policy says: "All the livestock that provide meat for Waitrose are pre-stunned before slaughter to ensure they are insensitive to pain before being killed". It does not make clear that this refers only to own-brand products. [National Secular Society] Read more
