UK: Automated poultry slaughter rejected by Islamic scholars

Leading Islamic scholars in the UK have unanimously rejected the automated slaughter of halal poultry, insisting each bird must be killed with a hand held knife. Although all 35 scholars attending a recent debate on religious slaughter rejected the mechanisation of the procedure under halal law, the issue remains controversial, with some halal organisations reported to take a more pragmatic view and apparently agreeing to automated slaughter under certain conditions.

Speaking at the recent BMPA conference, the UK’s agriculture minister Jim Paice said that the implementation of an EU regulation on the protection of animals at the time of killing in January 2013 provided an opportunity to consider how to improve the welfare of animals slaughtered in accordance with religious rites, an issue which had risen up the political agenda in recent years. (...)