British MPs reject calls to ban religious slaughter of animals
Ministers uphold government acceptance of religious slaughter despite call of 100,000 to ban practice.
By JPOST.COM STAFFPackages of Halal food.(photo credit: REUTERS)
British ministers rejected a call to ban the slaughtering of animals without stunning, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.A petition backed by more than 100,000 called the practice of non-stun slaughter inhumane and demanded that ministers acknowledge the strength of “public feeling over animal welfare” and properly inform consumers of how their meat was killed.Proponents of the petition said that they respect religious traditions but insist that animal welfare take precedence, the paper reported.UK legislation permits Jewish shechita and Muslim halal practices.In a speech last year to the Knesset, Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to maintain exemptions for animal slaughter conducted under religious law. The Parliament upheld his promise with the dismissal of this latest petition, insisting that it does not intend to outlaw religious slaughter practices.“The government had no intention of banning religious slaughter,” the Daily Mail quoted a government spokeswomen saying. “We respect the rights of Jewish and Muslim communities to eat meat in accordance with their beliefs,” she said.
