In 2006, Kirklees Council developed a policy to serve halal meat in schools where there is a majority of Muslim pupils following a consultation involving parents, students, head teachers, school governors and scholars.

The preferred option for the provision of halal meat was by adopting the non stun method of slaughter. The outcome of the consultation reviewed in 2016, led to the Halal Monitoring Committee becoming the accredited body.
Current UK law at Schedule 12 of ‘The Welfare of Animals Regulations 1995’ allows for religious slaughter of animals to take place without the need to stun.

I would like Kirklees Council to maintain its policy to provide non stun halal meat for Muslim children at schools. I provide my details below in support of this petition.

I believe that a non-stunned practice of animal slaughter for human consumption is a more humane method of taking an animal’s life instead of stunning.

Stunned animals are slaughtered in the UK by using the following methods which I consider to be inhumane: 

Slaughter of large animals by stunning:
There are various methods available to stun larger animals, these include:

1. Penetrating captive bolt - A gun fires a metal bolt into the brain of the animal causing the animal to lose consciousness immediately.

2. Electrical - An electrical current is passed through the animal’s brain via a large pair of tongs, causing temporary loss of consciousness. Some systems also pass the current through the heart, so the animal is not just stunned but also killed.

Slaughter of poultry - There are two main methods used:    

2a. Electrical stunning - Stunning using a water bath with an electrical circuit. This can cause death by drowning.       

3. Gas killing - The majority of poultry (chickens, hens and turkeys) in the UK are now killed using gas. There are a number of different types of gas killing systems and gas mixtures that may be used.

Please support and add your name to this petition. 

My position is substantiated from the study conducted by Professor Schultz and Dr Hazim of the Hanover University, Germany, who carried out a study of stunning and slaughtering using an electroencephalograph (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG).

The study: ‘Attempts to Objectify Pain and Consciousness in Conventional (captive bolt pistol stunning) and Ritual (Halal, knife) Methods of Slaughtering Sheep and Calves’