“ANSA (Association of Non stun Abattoirs) Deplores the stance taken by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and its President.
Following the statement made by the head of the BVA, religious slaughter methods need to change to prevent animal suffering and he called for a total ban on this practice!
The BVA’s statement now falls in line with British Nationalists Party and English Defense league.
Mr M Akram Gill Chairman of ANSA (Association of Non stun Abattoirs) deplores this stance and defends any encroachment on Religious Slaughter without stunning and demands an apology and retraction from the BVA and asks the ministers in Government to relieve Mr Blackwell of his post due to his antagonistic views towards the Jewish and Islamic Faith.
It is unfortunate that the BVA and other animal welfare organisations in the UK tend to view religious slaughter as incompatible with humaneness; quite the contrary is true – compassion and animal welfare stand at the centre of the entire process.
For an organisation of BVAs caliber one would think, especially in the current economic downturn, they would be looking at working more closely in engaging members from the faith communities by encouraging more students to come forward as vets.
Mr Gill welcomed the comment by Nick Clegg who has said he is “emphatically” opposed to the UK introducing a ban on the slaughter of animals in compliance with what some see as religious requirements. Slaughter of animals for the production of Halal or kosher meat is currently exempt from UK regulations requiring animals to be stunned into unconsciousness or death.
The fact that the process of halal & kosher slaughter itself acknowledges the animal as a trust and a gift from God, the mention of the name of the Divine before commencing the action serves as a reminder of this. The aim is to make the death of the animal as quick and painless as possible. The kosher and halal methods of slaughter with an extremely sharp knife cause a rapid loss of consciousness which is indeed equivalent to the stunning of the animal.
There will always be a discussion about what can be learned from scientific evidence, and the Jewish and Muslim communities stand ready to debate in any constructive forum. But let us not pretend that religious slaughter represents a key battleground for animal welfare in this country – to do so is disingenuous in the extreme.
Bron: Association of Non stun Abattoirs