The cruelty documented at the halal abattoir is symptomatic of a wider problem across the industry, rather than one confined to religious slaughter, say campaigners.
The Government is under mounting pressure from MPs, vets, and animal welfare campaigners to ban religious slaughter, after scenes of cruelty – shown in an undercover video of a halal abattoir – sparked public revulsion.
The disturbing findings of the investigation at the Bowood Lamb abattoir in North Yorkshire, by Animal Aid, reported in today’s Independent, have already resulted in one slaughterman being sacked and three suspended.
Undercover footage showed scenes including workers repeatedly hacking at sheep’s throats and animals being kicked in the head and face.
In a statement, the company described animal welfare as “its highest priority” and said: “We set very high standards for the way in which animals that pass through our premises are treated and we enforce those standards rigorously.”
But the cruelty caught on camera shows that the Government should “bite the bullet” and ban the religious slaughter of animals who are not stunned first, a senior Conservative backbencher told The Independent.
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