Some methods are reversible and others are irreversible. there is no doubt that stunning of animals is cruel and causes unjustifiable suffering to the animals which is strongly prohibited in Islam. One of the most popular stunning methods is electrical stunning, and this study was conducted to gauge the viability of it as a reversible method for halal slaughter. When irreversible methods of stunning are applied, the animal will die if it is not slaughtered within a few minutes. Halal slaughter without stunning has been associated with delayed loss of consciousness (Gregory, Fielding, Von Wenzlawowicz, & Von Holleben, 2010) and a noxious stimulus in the period following the ventral neck incision (Gibson et al., 2009). When they are stunned, animals are rendered unconscious through blunt force, electric shocks, gassing or a steel bolt that penetrates an animal’s skull. In other words, the most stringent guidelines have been adopted to ensure for universal acceptability and so that the consumable is Halal ⦠There are different types of stunning used for different species including turkeys, chickens, lamb, and cattle. This article will attempt to shed light on this important issue. Proponents and opponents of stunning need to cooperate to protect animal welfare at slaughter and to produce high-quality meat. In practical terms, the percentage of non-stunned Halal meat is extremely low and the majority of Halal meat is stunned. To determine which foods can be considered halal, Muslims can draw their basis on three major religious sources: passages in the Quran, customs and sayings of Prophet Muhammad, and views of the religious scholars and leaders. Health an Islamic Perspective. Stunning. 3 .1 million sheep (25 percent of total slaughtered) 3. Halal (/ h É Ë l ÉË l /; Arabic: ØÙا٠â, ḥalÄl; also spelled halaal) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible or lawful" into English.. Between 84 and 90 per cent of animals killed for halal meat in the UK are processed by one of the large number of halal slaughterhouses which do use electric stunning beforehand. On the other hand, if it is established that the animal was indeed dead at the time of slaughter, such an animal will be unlawful to consume despite the fact that it was slaughtered in accordance to Islamic law. The observation of movement in the animal, or establishing the fact that a pulse exists is sufficient to prove an animal alive.”. HFSAA sent a delegation to research the Halal status of this meat and found that almost all of this meat is stunned due to the governmental regulations in these countries. There are numerous types of stunning including the pneumatic stunner which delivers a blow to the head of the animal, captive bolt pistol which shatters the brain of the animal, electric water through which delivers an electric shock to poultry, and electric brain stunner for sheep. However, there are different forms of stunning; some of which are prohibited, and some are ⦠To know why keep reading⦠Halal slaughter operates on certain important key principles and one of them is humaneness so that means reducing the animal's suffering. -The reason for using this system is to apply anaesthesia to the birds. These are two different issues which are independent from one another and should not be cropped together under one banner. Two regions of Belgium banned animal slaughter without stunning, spurring criticism from religious leaders. Likewise, there are many Muslim leaders who are completely opposed to stunning and do not allow it. Both faiths require that the animal be treated well in life and be healthy and unharmed before slaughter, which all Jewish religious authorities and some Muslim ones interpret as a prohibition of “stunning” before slaughter. Everyone agrees that an animal’s suffering should be kept to a minimum, he added. The majority of Halal lamb and goat in America and a good percentage of the Halal beef is imported from New Zealand and Australia. The animal should also be slaughtered in a prescribed manner and by a faithful Muslim who can recite âshahada.â The Quran does not give a list of halal food but instead focus ⦠Other methods are reversible in theory and the animal can get up and walk around if not slaughtered in a few minutes. Stunning has been used for decades and “promotes animal welfare and meat quality,” according to the North American Meat Institute, a trade group that represents 95 percent of American red-meat producers. Is Stunning an Animal Before Slaughter More Humane? If the animal was indeed alive at the time of a proper Halal slaughter, then the meat of such an animal will be lawful to consume. Islamset. Therefore, the Islamic ruling of stunning is an issue of paramount importance which has tremendous implications for Muslim consumers and businesses alike. Since the legal status of a stunned animal is dependent on it being alive at the time of slaughter, there is a need to discuss how to ascertain that the animal is alive at the time of death. Some argue that stunning itself can cause great suffering, particularly if it is not carried out properly. It is an established fact that the majority of conventional meat slaughterhouses in North America use some form of stunning to subdue and immobilize the animal before the slaughter. “What we see in Europe is ominous,” Rabbi Genack said. The animal must be slaughtered by the use of a sharp knife. Most Halal slaughterhouses in ⦠However, HFSAA will not allow lethal and irreversible stunning methods for cattle which will cause the death of the animal in a few minutes and will initiate cardiac arrest. However, stunning in any slaughterhouse in any country in the world, is not always successful; Halal or otherwise. At the same time, HFSAA acknowledges the scarcity of authentic Halal products and understand that stunning is needed in the short term to meet the needs of the Muslim community. After learning of the evil of stunning, a Muslim should do his best to consume meat which was not stunned and support businesses who supply non-stunned Halal meat. Some Religious Leaders Say No. SLAUGHTER CRITERIA HMA has adopted such a criterion for Halal slaughter that is accepted by all, irrespective of sects and schools of thought. However all animals currently slaughtered in Scotland, Northern Ireland a⦠A Belgian ban on kosher and halal slaughter of animals without being stunned has been backed by the European Court of Justice, which rejected ⦠This presents challenges for the Muslim consumer who makes a conscious decision to consume only non-stunned Halal meat. Approximately 90% or more of chickens are stunned through the reversible method of the electric water trough. They are authorized to remove such animals from the line and ensure that they are not included in the Halal production. The country’s tiny third region, Brussels, will still allow ritual slaughter. Halal and kosher slaughter practices per se do not affect meat quality more than their conventional equivalents. Since CAS is an irreversible method of stunning, where the birds eventually die, the Halal Monitoring Authority does not approve of it except when the following is guaranteed: â ⦠Halal Means Humane: Stunning of Animals from the Islamic Perspective In today's day and age, it is a major difficulty to know where our food comes from and more specifically, how the animals that provide meat for us to consume are handled and managed. The current stunning method being used for chickens in Halal slaughterhouses is illegal. The long-term goal is to move closer to the Sunnah method of slaughter and stop causing extra pain to the animal through stunning. The latest FSA figures, published in February 2019, show an estimate of 94 million animals were slaughtered without pre-stunning in 2018: 1. HFSAA has adopted a balanced approach in the short term with regards the issue of stunning and have consciously chosen the ‘lesser of the two evils’ in order to provide more options for Muslims to consume authentic Halal products. This is mainly due to poor communication from ⦠However, the impermissibility of the act of stunning does not influence the lawfulness of the animal which was stunned and does NOT necessarily mean that all stunned animals are also unlawful to consume. With the start of the new year, Belgium became the latest European country to ban traditional Jewish and Muslim animal slaughtering practices. Viva! A second, independent issue is the ruling of consuming an animal which has been stunned prior to a proper Halal slaughter. What is up for debate now is, among halal meat producers, certifiers and consumers, whether stunning accomplishes that goal. A small paradise country on earth, Mauritius offers great options for halal hotels, halal food, stunning beaches and perfect seclusion for halal holidays or honeymoons. HALAL GAS STUNNING SYSTEM I will briefly explain about the details which are needed to be considered when applying the gas stunning process: -The amount of gas used and the variety levels of these amounts are really important. Stunning through a device with a non-penetrating round head, in a way that does not kill the animal before its slaughter, is permitted, provided that certain conditions are adhered to. Eric Lalmand/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images. New Zealand has introduced a halal quality assurance system that reassures Muslims that some methods of stunning, such as electrical head-only, donât result in the animalâs death before its neck is cut, and that blood loss causes the death. “Animal welfare has been addressed by Islamic legal scholars since very early in Islamic history,” said Bogac A. Ergene, a history professor at the University of Vermont and co-author, with Febe Armanios, of “Halal Food: A History.”. The slaughterers are trained to look for signs of life and to reject animals which do not bleed properly or do not display signs of life. Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island nation, is known for its beaches, lagoons and reefs. Other European countries have varying requirements, according to a Library of Congress report released last year. For the majority, no. The Jews have historically taken a strong stance against stunning and do not allow it under any circumstance. The Quran forbids the eating of any animal that has been slaughtered in the name of other gods other than Allah. The Nazis also cited cruelty to animals when they prohibited slaughter without stunning in 1933. Religious leaders say minimizing an animal’s pain has always been central to their traditions, and a ritual slaughter — carried out with a sharp blade to the neck — should be quick and almost painless. At issue is whether to allow religious exemptions to European Union rules that state animals must be knocked out before they are slaughtered, which supporters say is more humane. Stunning Halal or Haram No injury shall be inflicted on the animalâs nervous system, brain or spinal cord prior to slaughtering. Stunning cannot be used to kill an animal, according to the Halal Food ⦠Most Halal slaughterhouses in North America also use some form of stunning before slaughter. SOURCES Smith, Rebecca, Sentenced to Death. Stunning is an unacceptable action and the person who stuns will sinful for causing extra pain to the animal. Dr. Armanios, an associate history professor at Middlebury College, said that the research on what is more “humane” was inconsistent, with studies that can support either position. We will discuss these two rulings separately below. Yes, Stunning is Halal! Some halal-certifying bodies agree, but others do allow nonpenetrative stunning before slaughter. Therefore, after careful consideration, HFSAA has decided to approve reversible methods of stunning in the short term for poultry and sheep under strict supervision to ensure that the animal does not die. There are different types of stunning used for different species including turkeys, chickens, lamb, and cattle. Dr. Armanios added that there was one argument put forth by religious and secular people alike that is often overlooked: that there simply is no truly humane slaughter. The question of stunning animals used for halal meat has become somewhat of buzzword amongst some UK Muslims. In the current situation, the supply of non-stunned Halal meat is insufficient to meet the supply needs of the North America Muslim community. The United States has similar regulations, but allows for religious exemptions. Belgium joins Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Slovenia, which do not allow religious exemptions to the stunning rule. The stance of HFSAA is that stunning should be avoided as much as possible and Muslims in the long term should move towards removing stunning completely from Halal slaughterhouses. There is debate about elements of halal, such as whether stunning is allowed. A significant number of British Halal meat-eaters might be persuaded to switch to meat from stunned animals, if they were reassured that some forms of stunning are compatible with Halal ⦠A renowned Islamic scholar, Mufti Taqi Usmani, has shed light on this important issue and he writes: ” The jurists have mentioned many signs that can be taken as proof of an animal being alive at the time of slaughter, for example if the animal bleeds at the time of slaughter like a living animal, or closes its mouth or eyes, or pulls together its legs, or shows any kind of movement, etc. But a minority of halal food â and all kosher meat â does not involve stunning. On Monday, he retweeted Paul Joseph Watson, a far-right English commentator and contributor to the conspiracy site Infowars, who wrote that the ban “needs to happen in every European country.”. For this reason, many scholars have declared that the act of stunning is extremely disliked and close to being impermissible. OK, take a step back. Based on the Halal needs of the Muslim community, many renowned international Halal organizations and authorities have accepted animals which are stunned with strict requirements and measures in place to ensure that the animal is alive when slaughtered. In non-halal slaughterhouses, stunned animals are ⦠Not Reciting God’s Name When Slaughtering. Meat from stunned livestock presents more quality problems compared to non-stunned. The majority of beef slaughterhouses use a pneumatic stunner or a captive bolt pistol to subdue the animal before slaughter. In the Netherlands, the government and religious groups struck a compromise, which took effect a year ago: If an animal is still responsive 40 seconds after its throat is cut, it must be stunned. One preliminary point to consider when discussing the ruling of stunning is differentiating between the act of stunning and the legal status of the animal which has been slaughtered after stunning. 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