Media Release

22nd December 2003 for immediate use MPs Take A Stand On Controversial Religious Slaughter Call 55 MPs have backed an Early Day Motion calling for an end to religious slaughter in the UK. Recent opposition to the slaughter of fully conscious animals for religious reasons has aroused the anger of Jewish and Muslim communities and is seen as highly politically-sensitive. Defenders of religious slaughter claim it is humane and a matter of religious freedom. Animal campaigning group Viva! who drafted the EDM, assert that it is a serious animal welfare problem which must be addressed as a matter of urgency. The support of 55 MPs, drawn from all major parties, for this controversial Motion has been welcomed by Viva! as a sign of a new willingness to address the issue. All animals in the UK must be stunned prior to slaughter, except those killed for Muslim halal and Jewish kosher meat. It is estimated that this means approximately 10m animals per year have their throats cut while fully conscious. Last June, the prestigious Government advisory body, the Farm Animal Welfare Council, published a report calling for the legal exemption for religious slaughter to be repealed as the practice caused "unnecessary suffering". They noted that, for instance, a calf may take up to two minutes to lose consciousness after throat-cutting. The Council was accused of racism and anti-Semitism after making the call. The Government currently defends religious slaughter on the basis of religious tolerance but has not yet formally responded to FAWC's report and does not expect to do so until the middle of next year. Viva! campaigner, Alistair Currie said, "it is a very healthy sign that so many MPs have recognized the need for something to be done about this problem. Everyone acknowledges that it is a difficult issue but, for that reason, it has been shelved or ignored for years: that just can't go on. It's time we had a rational, calm and informed debate about religious slaughter and the support of so many MPs will help us to achieve that." Sponsoring MP Colin Challen said, "I am delighted with the support this Early Day Motion has received - it shows there is a growing demand in the House for this matter to be looked at, and I believe if everybody approached the subject with an eye on the sensitivities involved we could make progress towards reducing animal pain and suffering." Contact: Alistair Currie on 0117 944 1000. Notes for Editors A "rival" EDM (No 32) calling for a continued exemption has so far gained 50 signatures. Text of EDM 104, tabled on 26th November 2003: Slaughter Without Prestunning That this House notes that the Farm Animal Welfare Council has recently called for the repeal of the exemption from stunning prior to slaughter for animals killed by Moslem halal and Jewish Shechita methods; further notes the Council's conclusion that the act of throat cutting at slaughter would "result in very significant pain and distress in the period before insensibility supervenes"; further notes that scientific evidence shows that sheep become insensible within 5-7 seconds of the incision, adult cattle may take between 22 and over 40 seconds and calves may take up to two minutes to become insensible; deplores all racism and religious intolerance but believes that the profound suffering caused to many millions of animals every year by slaughter without prestunning is an urgent animal welfare problem; further notes that over 90 per cent of animals killed for halal meat are now prestunned; further notes that slaughter without prestunning has been banned in Norway, Sweden and New Zealand; and calls on the Government to work actively and constructively in co-operation with the Muslim and Jewish communities to bring about an end to religious slaughter in the UK. FAWC's report, "The Welfare of Red Meat at Animals at Slaughter or Killing" was published in June 2003 and can be viewed on their website, www.fawc.org.uk