To absolutely loathe the increase in smear campaigns against businesses because of the halal meat debate?

Yes, by Animal Rights charities.

Not racists who leave 1 star reviews for businesses serving halal meat or who stay open for Ramadam hours.

It’s not vegan or compulsory halal. People can choose what they consume. Even some posters who talk about animal welfare consume dairy.

There are campaigns against this as well.

Yes it’s funny how the priority isn’t stopping the maceration of live male chicks. Literally ground to death alive.

Yes it’s funny how the priority isn’t stopping the maceration of live male chicks. Literally ground to death alive.

Yes it’s funny how the priority isn’t stopping the maceration of live male chicks. Literally ground to death alive.

Many concerning issues arise when considering the Islamic concept of halal. Halal is an Arabic term meaning permissible. Therefore, halal refers to practices that Muslims are allowed to partake in, according to Islamic theology and law.

In short, halal slaughter traditionally requires an animal to be killed through a specific method (the slitting of the animal’s throat while Islamic prayers are recited) that typically DOES NOT involve the pre-stunning of the animal:

"The name of Allah must be mentioned during the slaughter, and the animal must be bled completely. After the animal is slaughtered, the meat is inspected to ensure that it is free of defects. If it is found to be clean and wholesome, it is then considered halal."

The Islamic prayers must be imbibed into the meat to make it suitable offering for Allah, therefore all halal meat would contain practices and prayers that would be offensive or unacceptable for people of other faiths; therefore, supermarkets cannot possibly focus on all meat being halal. Critics argue that slaughter without stunning is inhumane, raising concerns among animal welfare advocates. Furthermore, supporting halal butcheries and Islamic-owned businesses inevitably leads to the further spread of certain troublesome Islamic practices such as those mentioned above.

Many animals killed using ritual slaughter practices are fully conscious when their throats are cut. Any fully conscious animal is absolutely and understandably terrified when a chain is shackled to their leg and they’re hoisted into the air upside down. Birds thrash wildly in panic and excruciating pain, since their legs can break or be pulled out of their sockets under their own bodyweight. Research shows that when cattle and sheep are killed without stunning, it can take several unimaginably agonising minutes for them to lose consciousness after their throats are slit. The reason they can't be stunned in Islamic halal practices is the Islamic legal requirement that argue that stunned animals do not bleed out in exactly the same way as non-stunned animals.

See graphic video documenting halal slaughterhouse practices.

PETAUK considers halal just animal cruelty by another name:

https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/ritual-slaughter/

You think all non-halal slaughter is humane?

Please explain what the "smear campaign against halal meat" is. I mean, we all know what halal meat/slaughter is. How can it be "smeared" in any way. @twentyeightfishinthepond

Yes, thank you for your post.

This bit stands out for me: 'non-stunned' meat is cheaper and therefore supermarkets and food outlets can purchase that cheaper meat without ever declaring it to the customer... Non-stunned produce is being used by 17 local councils in schools, the majority of which are not Islamic faith schools, without parents or children having the first idea about it.'

It's the encroachment of non-stunned halal into mainstream meat consumption which is the biggest worry. The confusion around the issue is enabling this.

For all of you who trivialise and find nothing wrong with halal, including the OP, let me know how you justify trivialising this criminality.

A secret video camera planted by an animal rights' activist reveals the true horrors of what happened inside that abattoir in a ­Warwickshire village. A report by university academics who viewed the film last year said 'intense pain and distress' was inflicted on hundreds of lambs as they were hurled into doors, walls, and floors, before being killed in a terrible way.

Activist Joey Carbstrong, who made the undercover film, has insisted it was made to highlight animal cruelty, rather than ­stigmatise Islam. He acted after complaints from villagers about the smell coming from the abattoir, and the distressing cries made by the 1,000 animals arriving by lorry at the premises every week.

Of the one billion farm animals killed in England and Wales ­during 2024, approximately one in five – or just over 200million – were killed by halal methods. This ­represents 20 per cent of the total, even though the Muslim ­population in England and Wales is nearer 7 per cent. Meaning, non-muslims are pushed to eat halal meat.

The majority of halal slaughterhouses slit the throats, while a small number do stun the animals – although critics claim the ­slaughtermen use a lower voltage than that employed in regular stunning, to ensure the animal is not dead before its throat is cut (in other words, they only pretend to stun the animals).
The critics maintain that this means the animals can regain full ­consciousness after 20 seconds, then struggle and feel pain for many minutes while they are slaughtered.

There are also claims that halal meat is being sold in super­markets without adequate ­labelling as to the method of slaughter. One social media ­commentator complained about his experience when he went to his local High Street supermarket this week to buy some chicken: 'It had a red Union Jack on it ­(meaning it was reared in ­Britain), and had a Red Tractor (animal welfare) certification on the ­package. But when I checked the code it turned out to be halal.'

Conservative MP Esther McVey explained in House of Commons in February 2026 why the meat was so prevalent: 'non-stunned' meat is cheaper and therefore, 'supermarkets and food outlets can purchase that cheaper meat without ever declaring it to the customer... Non-stunned produce is being used by 17 local councils in schools, the majority of which are not Islamic faith schools, without parents or children having the first idea about it.'

She has called for a law to label halal and kosher meat so people can decide not to eat it, adding: 'Individuals concerned about animal welfare would want to know if an animal had been stunned prior to slaughter.'

Whether a dying animal is stunned or not, an Islamic prayer is said over the dying creature by the slaughterman in line with the ­strictures of the Koran.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15593083/halal-slaughter-animals-eating-SUE-REID.html

kosher meat isnt stunned at all. They then take the parts that are not considered kosher and sell it as "meat" on the open market.

No. People are aware what i
mean. I’m sick of people like you, too, popping up all over the place and demanding further explanation as a means of rehearsing further debate.

Why has nobody secretly filmed in a kosher abbatoir given that we know no animals are stunned?

Im disgusted by the smear campaign against halal meat. I’m disgusted by the Palestine war. I’m disgusted by the shocking denials of the holocaust by the far right in the USA, which I was hearing about on the radio yesterday. So many dodgy campaigns, with so many hidden motives. So much has changed in the last decade.

Yes, thank you for your post.

This bit stands out for me: 'non-stunned' meat is cheaper and therefore supermarkets and food outlets can purchase that cheaper meat without ever declaring it to the customer... Non-stunned produce is being used by 17 local councils in schools, the majority of which are not Islamic faith schools, without parents or children having the first idea about it.'

It's the encroachment of non-stunned halal into mainstream meat consumption which is the biggest worry. The confusion around the issue is enabling this.

The parts of animals that are not considered to be kosher are sold on the general meat market.

For all of you who trivialise and find nothing wrong with halal, including the OP, let me know how you justify trivialising this criminality.

A secret video camera planted by an animal rights' activist reveals the true horrors of what happened inside that abattoir in a ­Warwickshire village. A report by university academics who viewed the film last year said 'intense pain and distress' was inflicted on hundreds of lambs as they were hurled into doors, walls, and floors, before being killed in a terrible way.

Activist Joey Carbstrong, who made the undercover film, has insisted it was made to highlight animal cruelty, rather than ­stigmatise Islam. He acted after complaints from villagers about the smell coming from the abattoir, and the distressing cries made by the 1,000 animals arriving by lorry at the premises every week.

Of the one billion farm animals killed in England and Wales ­during 2024, approximately one in five – or just over 200million – were killed by halal methods. This ­represents 20 per cent of the total, even though the Muslim ­population in England and Wales is nearer 7 per cent. Meaning, non-muslims are pushed to eat halal meat.

The majority of halal slaughterhouses slit the throats, while a small number do stun the animals – although critics claim the ­slaughtermen use a lower voltage than that employed in regular stunning, to ensure the animal is not dead before its throat is cut (in other words, they only pretend to stun the animals).
The critics maintain that this means the animals can regain full ­consciousness after 20 seconds, then struggle and feel pain for many minutes while they are slaughtered.

There are also claims that halal meat is being sold in super­markets without adequate ­labelling as to the method of slaughter. One social media ­commentator complained about his experience when he went to his local High Street supermarket this week to buy some chicken: 'It had a red Union Jack on it ­(meaning it was reared in ­Britain), and had a Red Tractor (animal welfare) certification on the ­package. But when I checked the code it turned out to be halal.'

Conservative MP Esther McVey explained in House of Commons in February 2026 why the meat was so prevalent: 'non-stunned' meat is cheaper and therefore, 'supermarkets and food outlets can purchase that cheaper meat without ever declaring it to the customer... Non-stunned produce is being used by 17 local councils in schools, the majority of which are not Islamic faith schools, without parents or children having the first idea about it.'

She has called for a law to label halal and kosher meat so people can decide not to eat it, adding: 'Individuals concerned about animal welfare would want to know if an animal had been stunned prior to slaughter.'

Whether a dying animal is stunned or not, an Islamic prayer is said over the dying creature by the slaughterman in line with the ­strictures of the Koran.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15593083/halal-slaughter-animals-eating-SUE-REID.html

If that is the case why does the Halal Monitoring Committee say on its website that only non-stunned meat counts as halal? It's the lack of clarity that increases suspicion of the whole industry.

And as this is a growing industry, with public sector bodies like schools adopting halal as standard, to be served to all their students, not just the Muslims, this is an important issue.

Why has nobody secretly filmed in a kosher abbatoir given that we know no animals are stunned?

It's a widely reported statistic. Here's a Q&A on UK Parliament:

Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament

There is debate in the Muslim community over if stunned animals count as Halal, as you have seen. When I last looked into this some 15 years ago, most people who wanted to eat Halal in the UK were happy to eat stunned animals who had the prayer said over them.

There is some commentary online that that is changing, but from recent UK Slaughterhouse statistics, the production %s seem stable. I don't know, of the number of people who eat Halal, how many are eating UK or imported meat, compared with non-Halal meat eaters in the UK. That would be an interesting statistic to see.

Makes me think all meat is cruel now.