Op-Ed: Four slaughter men have been suspended from work after a spy camera caught their monstrous behaviour on film. But suspending their licenses to kill must surely only be an initial step with criminal charges to follow? Tuesday graphic images and footage of animal cruelty and abuse at the hands of these men is circulating online and in the mainstream media; animal rights group Animal Aid recorded the footage in December. Images of sheep being punched, kicked and brutally abused before slaughter, sometimes involving hacking to death with rough blades, are sickening. The men worked at a Halal slaughter house. That means the meat was killed in a certain way to adhere to Muslim guidelines. Their abuse of animals though breaks that religion's rules. The slaughter of a halal animal is called "zabihah" and there are certain guidelines to follow: The slaughter of 4,000 sheep was caught on camera at the busy Bowood Lamb abattoir in Thirsk in North Yorkshire.
British law requires abattoirs to stun animals before slaughter to prevent unnecessary suffering but there are exemptions for Jewish and Muslim producers. The Animals should not see the knife or others dying but at this place of death these four men brandished the knife to the animals, laughed at them as they stood on conscious animals and watched others bleed to death. This shocking story is one in a long line of abuse of animals. There is now a push to make sure all such places are monitored by installing CCTV. Kate Fowler, head of campaigns at Animal Aid, told the Express that the scenes from the Halal slaughterhouse were "inexcusable". "A petition aimed at triggering a parliamentary debate on the issue has already collected more than 80,000 of the 100,000 signatures needed. It has received the backing of celebrities including comedian Ricky Gervais, actress Sadie Frost, and Queen guitarist Brian May." The Food Standards Agency (FSA)are investigating but have said prosecution could follow. Could follow? Surely it must? How we treat our animals is often a sign of what we are like as a person. These men have shown they are anything but decent citizens. Choice: If you were given a choice would you opt to buy Halal meat? That question was up for debate in May 2014 in the UK when it was revealed that in many cases meat is Halal and the consumer is not aware of that fact.
4 Comments
Hannah
2/3/2015 01:00:54 am
Thank you of making the public aware of cruelty to animals.
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Dava Castillo
2/3/2015 02:06:48 am
Thank you for the report.
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eileen
2/3/2015 04:18:37 am
Thank you Hannah and Dava for dropping by.
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Caroline Burton
10/18/2015 05:16:50 pm
Many cultures SAY they kill as painlessly as possible for the animal, but we all know that is not true. The fear alone is painful for an animal who knows there is no escape and can sense and smell (both more strongly than we can) the impending death. I also grew up eating meat and loved it with a passion, but when I visited slaughter houses in the UK in the early 1970's and witnessed first hand the fear and pain of the animals, I stopped eating them. If you feel uncomfortable about eating meat, then please begin to stop now. A vegan lifestyle is easy when you finally get there and has so many benefits, despite the scaremongering by those who profit; the meat and dairy industries. It takes around six weeks for our taste buds to adapt.... if you can go that long without something!
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