Are Brits Unknowingly Buying Halal Meat?

Its been going on for many years but it seems there’s been a steady rise of halal meat being found in supermarkets, shops, schools and restaurants etc across the UK.

While some would like to see the practice of religiously slaughtering animals banned, for others the main problem is that the meat is not clearly labeled or easy to identify, and so shoppers are not aware that they are buying it.

Claims have been circulating on social media that a majority of meat bought in UK supermarkets is halal, and there concerns over the proportion of animals being slaughtered without prior stunning.

If this practice is left unchecked, the UK might as well have no animal welfare laws.

Current UK law requires animals to be stunned before slaughter, so they don’t feel pain.

But, according to the the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA): , Jewish and Muslim communities are NOT required by law to stun animals before slaughter. All Shechita (Jewish) and some Halal (Muslim) slaughter involves cutting the animal’s throat without stunning them first. 

They claim to oppose the slaughter of any animal without first ensuring it IS unable to feel pain and distress and say that they are pressing for law changes to improve animal welfare at slaughter.

Until that happens, they propose:

Meat produced from animals not stunned before slaughter should be clearly labelled to allow consumer choice

UK Jewish and Muslim communities review their slaughter practices

Still little, if anything has been done and meat products are being purchased unknowingly by consumer.

The government should at the very least create a new law requiring all meat to be labeled as religiously slaughtered or non-religiously slaughtered and allow people the option to chose the meat they want.

One recent petition reads: We think it should be required that the labeling of non-stunned and stunned meat be clearly labelled throughout the food chain. This includes shops, supermarkets, suppliers, fast food and restaurants

This would include labels on every product available to consumers
We think UK government should implement mandatory method of slaughter labelling for all meat products Stunned or Non-Stunned. For all industries linked to food, including but not limited to shops, supermarkets, schools, restaurants, fast food, cafes and suppliers

We think this promotes consumer choice, enhances transparency, especially for religion and ethics

We think no one should be forced to consume food which doesn’t meet their ethical and religious choices, they should have the right to choose without prejudice

According to Farmers Guide: Food Standards Agency figures show that non-stun slaughter for halal is rising – accounting for 29% of sheep slaughtered in the 2024 survey compared to 22% in 2022.

The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) chief executive Nick Allen said most of its members use stunning and still sell into the halal market – with just one member doing both stun and non-stun, and the process is heavily overseen by assurance schemes and retailers.

However, he said the proportion of non-stunned slaughter is rising quite dramatically – as there is “quite a vociferous non-stun community” that feels that stunning prevents the animal bleeding out properly, which is required for halal.

“In fact, there have been lots of trials to show that is not the case, the animal bleeds out just as thoroughly with stun as non-stun,” he added.

The article also states: Groups including the RSPCA and British Veterinary Association have long campaigned for an end to non-stun slaughter – though BVA said its short term aim for the coming year is to call for improved regulation, and it continues to press the government on reformed labelling.

The issue was debated in UK parliament earlier this year but no action has been taken by government to move forward with draft legislation. BVA said it is exploring options within existing systems to support increased animal welfare at the time of slaughter while also appreciating religious freedoms.