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Welfare labels on meat to say how animal was killed: New law is in pipeline after campaign on halal and kosher livestock that isn't stunned before slaughter

September 13, 2021: from The DailyMail:

• "It currently not compulsory to label meat as halal but new bill could change that
• Campaigners argue shoppers concerned with animal welfare should be able to make the choice to buy meat killed in a more humane way
• The Bill is in the early stages and is currently the subject of a public consultation."

  "Halal and kosher meat will have to be labelled in a victory for animal welfare campaigners."

  "As part of the proposed law, all meat will have to be marked with how the animal was killed."

  "Animals slaughtered to be compliant with kosher and halal rules are often killed without being stunned first and have their throats slit."

  "At the moment, it is not compulsory to label meat as halal, so campaigners have argued that those who eat the products and care about animal welfare should be able to make the choice to buy meat killed in a more humane way."

  "The Bill is currently in the early stages and is the subject of a public consultation. But ministers have privately said they aim to bring in the law – and that it is supported by the majority of the British public."

  "The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF), which the Prime Minister's wife Carrie Johnson has long been a patron of, has been calling for this policy change for years."

  "Under new laws, there will also be stricter animal welfare labelling requirements – with how the animal was reared and cared for prominently displayed on the packaging."

  "This is part of a raft of legislation under the Animal Welfare Bill including plans to ban boiling lobsters alive and outlawing the sale and import of 'cruel' animal products such as fur and foie gras."

  "Halal meat is worth around £2.6billion a year in the UK, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

  "It accounts for around 20 per cent of all lamb and mutton sold, despite Muslims only comprising around 5 per cent of the population."

  "This is because 'halal consumers eat more meat per capita than the general population', says the AHDB."

  "About 42 per cent of all halal meat is not stunned before slaughter, according to the Food Standards Agency."

  "Slaughter of kosher livestock – the method is known as shechita – is a small percentage of all animals killed accounting for only 0.5 per cent of all cattle, 0.1 per cent of sheep, 0.3 per cent of chickens."

  Another article from a Jewish point of view is Government’s misguided agenda on kosher meat labelling leaves a bad taste from the Times of Israel on September 24, 2021.