A new epetition on the Government website has been launched which calls for compulsory stunning before slaughter of all animals in Britain. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has endorsed this campaign by the British Veterinary Association (BVA), which also has support from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
The BHA has campaigned for the compulsory stunning of animals for a number of years. While EU and UK legislation does require pre-stunning for animals in Britain, exemptions exist which allow slaughter without stunning for certain religious communities, such as Shechita slaughter for Kosher food and Dhabihah slaughter for Halal food. Campaigners have also expressed concern that meat from countries which do not require pre-stunning is entering Britain unlabelled because there are no legal requirements that meat is packaged with information regarding method of slaughter.
If the epetition reaches 100,000 signatures, consideration may be given to debating its arguments in the House of Commons.
Commenting on the petition, BHA Head of Public Affairs Pavan Dhaliwal said, ‘The scientific evidence is clear that slaughter without pre-stunning is detrimental to animal welfare. We strongly support this petition and would call for Government to act quickly to amend the law so that pre-stunning of animals is compulsory for people from all communities in Britain. We believe that compassion ought to motivate us to reduce suffering for animals as much as possible.’
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For further comment or information, please contact Pavan Dhaliwal, Head of Public Affairs at pavan@humanists.uk or on 0773 843 5059.
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.