Youssef Ikhlaf, The Netherlands
Halal meat holds significant importance in Islamic dietary laws, specifying not only which animals are allowed for consumption but also a general outline on the procedures required for their slaughter.
This method, known as halal slaughter, is intended to be clean, ethical and humane. However, because it typically does not involve stunning the animal beforehand, a standard practice in most conventional slaughter methods, it has drawn ongoing criticism from animal rights advocates who view it as unnecessarily cruel. By stunning here, it is meant rendering the animal unconscious.
On 9 June, the British Parliament is set to discuss a petition that demands an end to slaughter without stunning, challenging the current religious exemptions. The petition, which has garnered over 100,000 signatures, has sparked concern within Jewish and Muslim communities, who argue that such a ban would threaten their religious freedoms.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, some Muslims are choosing not to slaughter animals for Eid al-Adha this year as a form of protest. A few mosques have even gone further, calling on the faithful to abstain from eating any meat produced in the country until they can slaughter without stunning the animal beforehand. This is surprising; the Netherlands actually permits slaughter without stunning, although it requires a permit.
What laws currently regulate animal slaughter? Is slaughtering animals without prior stunning regarded as inhumane? How does Islamic teaching approach the practice of stunning before slaughter? These issues are central to the topic and require careful examination.
What are the current regulations?
Regulations in both the UK and the EU generally require animals to be stunned before being killed. Exceptions are made under certain conditions for religious practices, including halal and kosher slaughter.
United Kingdom
The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 (Section 3)
Netherlands
Legal basis
The rules for slaughter without stunning are included in:
· Regulation (EC) No. 1099/2009 (European)
· Animal Act (Wet dieren)
· Animal Keepers Decree (Besluit houders van dieren)
Is slaughtering livestock without stunning inhumane?
Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh, the Fourth Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said:
“This issue is debatable: whether stunning the animal first and then slaughtering it, is more humane, showing greater kindness to the animal, than slaughtering it directly. I have studied this since my student days here in 1955–56. I visited some slaughterhouses and inquired with the people involved. I understand some basic sciences related to this question. I assure you, it cannot be definitively proven that stunning does not hurt the animal or that it makes death easier. In fact, it may make the process more cruel. In the Islamic method of slaughter, the main artery is severed immediately. The Holy Prophetsa also emphasised that a blunt instrument must never be used for this purpose. When the artery is cut with a sharp instrument, the blood supply to the brain is instantly stopped. People may think the animal is experiencing pain due to its movements, but these are involuntary reflexes, not signs of suffering. That is why the Holy Prophetsa repeatedly warned Muslims not to slaughter animals in any other way, such as by cutting them piecemeal. We have no right to do that. It must be done in the prescribed manner, in which the animal immediately loses consciousness.”
(“Question & Answer Session (12 Jan 1996) with Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Islam Ahmadiyya”, www.youtube.com)
In the Netherlands, animal protection advocates reject slaughter without stunning. However, they acknowledge that if performed correctly, such slaughter does not necessarily cause more suffering than slaughter with stunning. Therefore, when conducted properly, ritual slaughter does not result in greater animal suffering than conventional stunning methods. (“Halal slachten niet pijnlijker voor dieren”, www.trouw.nl)
Under Dutch regulations, it is very important that slaughter without stunning takes place only under strict supervision and after a permit has been granted.
When Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh was asked whether stunning can be considered Islamic, given that it was unknown in early Islam, and, if it alleviates the pain of animals, whether it would be permissible, he responded:
“Some people ask me if the modern style of slaughtering is Islamic, which is first stunning the animal, and then slaughtering it. In answer I say that it is not un-Islamic. I do not agree with orthodox Muslim scholars who say that this system was unknown to early Islam. These instruments which help alleviate the pain of animals were not available in those days. However, the principle, that even in killing you should show mercy, was enunciated by the Holy Founder[sa] of Islam himself.”
(The Seal of Prophets – His Personality and Character, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh, p. 33)
Therefore, the modern method of stunning animals before slaughter does not go against the teachings of the Holy Prophetsa as it renders the animal unconscious and reduces pain. Though stunning as we know it today was unknown in early Islam, its aim to minimise suffering reflects the spirit of mercy as taught by Islam and the Holy Prophetsa.
What does Islam say about stunning animals before slaughter?
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, Khalifatul Masih V, said:
“An animal that is killed by asphyxiation through gas, or one that is killed by being immersed in boiling water without being slaughtered, is not permissible [halal] to eat according to Islamic teachings. Indeed, Allah the Exalted explicitly states in the Holy Quran:
حُرِّمَتۡ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلۡمَيۡتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحۡمُ ٱلۡخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيۡرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلۡمُنۡخَنِقَةُ وَٱلۡمَوۡقُوذَةُ وَٱلۡمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيۡتُمۡ
‘Forbidden to you is [the flesh of an animal] which dies of itself, and blood and the flesh of swine; and that on which is invoked the name of one other than Allah; and that which has been strangled; and that beaten to death; and that killed by a fall; and that which has been gored to death; and that of which a wild animal has eaten, except that which you have properly slaughtered.’ (Surah al-Ma’idah, Ch.5: V.4)
“As for the matter of stunning animals, they are subjected to half-stun to spare them from some degree of suffering, after which they are also slaughtered, allowing their blood to flow out. This is because, even when half-stunned, both their heart and brain are still functioning.” (“Understanding halal slaughter: Is modern meat processing compatible with Islamic Law?”, www.alhakam.org)
So, stunning animals is permissible (halal).
Suspicion of a part of the Muslim Community
A part of the Muslim community in Holland made a declaration aimed at the Muslim Community and said what they used to say in previous years:
“Since we cannot obtain any guarantee that the slaughter is carried out according to the correct Islamic ritual method, there is too much doubt, and the butchers and slaughterhouses do not provide transparency about how the slaughter is done, we as Muslims must distance ourselves from doubtful matters. With Eid al-Adha (the Festival of Sacrifice) approaching and as we are required to perform a sacrificial offering, we must look for solutions that are truly halal. This is especially important now that it appears halal slaughter in the Netherlands is not possible, or that stunning is used before slaughter.” (“Deel Nederlandse moslims wil offerfeest boycotten”, www.ad.nl/)
There is a risk that such rigid positions may ignore the Islamic principle of convenience and feasibility (taysir: choosing the easiest way to solve a problem), whereas this is essential within the religion, especially for Muslims living in non-Islamic countries. Instead of collective abstention, a more productive approach would be to work with inspection bodies and invest in transparent slaughter practices.
Secondly, there are scholars who judge that stunning prior to slaughter is indeed allowed under certain conditions, as long as the animal does not die from stunning and the proper ritual acts are performed.
Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen (d. 2001) was one of the most prominent Salafi scholars in Saudi Arabia. He said, and this is mentioned in Fatawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb:
“If it (the animal) is stunned and then slaughtered, and the blood flows before the animal dies, then it is Halal. […] The Prophetsa said: ‘And when you slaughter, slaughter in the best manner.’” (Narrated by Muslim on the authority of Shaddad Ibn Awsra)
To conclude this article, I will end with the words of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa, who summarises the matter succinctly:
“The gist of the matter is that one should neither indulge in excessive suspicion to avoid permissible things without reason nor adopt a reckless attitude and strive to use everything regardless of its lawful or unlawful status. Rather, one should endeavour to lead a life in accordance with Islamic teachings, investigating affairs to a reasonable and cautious degree.” (Understanding halal slaughter: Is modern meat processing compatible with Islamic Law?”, www.alhakam.org)