During the last fifteen or so years I have stood on slaughter house lines and seen thousands of birds killed to Halal standards. From the evidence I have, it is a lie to say that the birds are not stunned first.
I first mentioned this issue after attending a meeting of the European Parliament's Agricultural Committee in November 2008. Some members were questioning the welfare standards of Halal produced meat.
Earlier in 2008 I made the point now being made by the Mail but without the lurid headlines when I said virtually all the chicken meat sold in Britian's big supermarkets like Asda, Tesco, and Sainsburys and through chains like MacDonalds and KFC is Halal though not labeled as Halal and has been for nearly twenty years! Most modern slaughterhouse regulations come very close to meeting the exacting standards set out in the Old Testament. "Ritual slaughter" for Halal meat often means little more having an Islamic prayer on the blade or as at Sun Valley in Hereford in the 1990s a prayer broadcast on a landline from a remote mosque over the slaughter area.
The company explained to me that there was a big market from British chicken meat among Britain's growing Muslim population but also in the many export markets. For them ensuring all their produce was Halal compliant made commercial sense, and they are part of the multi-national Cargill agri business
This raises a few questions.
Firstly does it matter if our meat is Halal compliant? The answer I feel is no. Eating a Halal chicken burger won't damage our faith.
Secondly, must we insist that Halal slaughtering meets accepted EU standards? Yes and there is no reason why it should not.
Thirdly, why has the Mail dug up what is a very old story? Sadly for the same reasons that seasoned anti-Semites used to campaign against Kosher meat production. They are trying to paint a minority in a poor light.