Call to Ban Halal Slaughter of Animals Rejected

TEHRAN (IQNA) - Amid increasing campaigns against halal meet in the UK, the British government said it had “no intention” to ban the religious slaughtering of animals for Muslims and Jews, despite a petition that has attracted more than 100,000 backers.

The petition demanding an outright ban on slaughtering animals without stunning them first has attracted more than 100,000 backers - but the Government insisted it still had 'no intention' of outlawing religious slaughter, Daily Mail reported.

Vets chief John Blackwell vowed to continue the fight, warning ministers they 'simply cannot ignore the strength of public feeling' over animal welfare and a failure to let consumers know how their meat was killed.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) remained unswayed by the petition hitting the 100,000 milestone - achieved by only 35 demands on the e-petition site since 2011, around 0.1% of those accepted.
A spokeswoman said: 'There are strict rules that govern the slaughter of animals in England which include additional conditions for religious slaughter and these remain unchanged.
'The Government has no intention of banning religious slaughter.
'The Government would prefer animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jewish and Muslim communities to eat meat in accordance with their beliefs.