UK: Food Standards Agency will publish all non-stunned ritual slaughters

Data will be published on the number of abattoirs in England and Wales which use non-stun or a combination of non-stun and stun slaughter as well as how many animals are slaughtered without stunning.

There are exemptions to pre-stunning for Shechita (Jewish) and halal (Muslim) slaughter methods but about 84 per cent of animals slaughtered by the halal method are pre-stunned.

The British Veterinary Association which opposes the exemptions said there was a ‘mismatch’ between supply and demand for halal and kosher meat leading to a ‘significant’ amount of non-stunned meat being sold outside the specialist markets.