Planned halal slaughterhouse in Finland – 10,000 sheep a year

A Halal slaughterhouse was born of need, as the demand for halal meat in Finland has increased due to immigration of Muslims. Halal slaughter would be under Finnish law by stunning the animals before bleeding.

Halal meat to the East of the Bazaar at the meat counter
Halal meat counter. Photo: Devy Nagalingam / Yle

It’s planned to focus first on Muslims to use halal meat slaughterhouses in Finland. The project is being taken forward by three Iraqi brothers residing in Helsinki.

Suitable premises have been found for the slaughterhouse in Kankaanpää, Satakunta. The aim of the slaughterhouse is the slaughtering of 10 000 sheep a year. If necessary, cattle are to slaughtered as well.

Project spokesperson of al-Karrar Hello tells us that the slaughterhouse was born of need, as the demand for halal meat in Finland has increased due to immigration of Muslims.

– Finland does not yet have a halal slaughterhouse which would cover the needs of a particular society, al-Hello says.

At present, almost all halal meat sold in Finland is imported from abroad.

– Money is leaving Finland all the time for Halal slaughter abroad. Halal slaughter could be done in Finland, because we have a very healthy sheep.

– The aim is also to create jobs in Finland. Slaughterhouse raise sheep production remarkably, al-Hello adds.

No slaughter without stunning

Al-Hello stress that halal slaughter would be under Finnish law by stunning the animals before bleeding. In general, Halal meat involves a way to be slaughtered without stunning the animal.

According to al-Hello, the only difference in the slaughterhouse used by the halal method of slaughtering from the Finnish way is religious ritual.

It is a butcher Muslim person who utters a phrase that he takes “permission from the creator for the slaughter of the animal”. He then faces in the direction of Mecca, and cuts the animal’s neck.

– In this case, it is only called halal slaughter, but otherwise quite normal slaughter, al-Hello says.