Religious slaughter: evaluation of current practices in selected countries

Area of Science:

• Animal Welfare Science
• Food Science and Technology
• Veterinary Public Health

Background:

• Religious slaughter (Halal and Shechita) involves specific methods for animal killing.
• Previous assessments of these practices have lacked comprehensive, cross-national data.
• The DIALREL project aimed to improve knowledge on welfare, legislation, and socio-economic aspects of religious slaughter.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate current practices in Halal and Shechita slaughter of cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry.
• To assess restraint methods, stunning, neck cutting, exsanguination, and post-cut handling.
• To identify variations and potential welfare concerns in religious slaughter procedures across different countries.

Main Methods:

• Conducted spot visits to abattoirs in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Turkey, and Australia.
• Developed standardized guidelines for cattle, sheep, and poultry to collect consistent data.
• Collected information on animal handling, restraint, stunning, neck cutting, exsanguination, and post-cut procedures, assessing animal pain and distress.

Main Results:

• Observed significant differences in the time intervals between animal restraint, stunning, and neck cutting.
• Documented variations in the time from neck cutting to the animal's death (exsanguination).
• Identified inconsistencies in slaughter techniques and post-cut handling across the surveyed abattoirs.

Conclusions:

• Current Halal and Shechita slaughter practices exhibit considerable variability in execution and timing.
• These variations may have implications for animal welfare, particularly concerning pain and distress.
• Further research and standardization efforts are needed to ensure consistent animal welfare standards in religious slaughter.