The RSPCA has renewed calls to end non-stun slaughter as figures released by the Food Standards Agency show a rise in animals slaughtered without pre-stunning.
The figures from the FSA showed there had been 30.1 million animals slaughtered without pre-stunning in 2024, which represented an 18.5% increase from 2022 (25.4 million) when the figures were last released.
Non-stun slaughter has risen for both halal and Shechita meat, with a 20.9% increase in non-stunned halal and a 2% increase in non-stunned kosher.
“We are disappointed to see that the numbers of animals slaughtered without pre-stunning has risen since the figures were last reported two years ago,” said David Bowles, head of public affairs at the RSPCA.
“This is a real concern as, based on predictions, this means over half a million animals are slaughtered without stunning every single week,” he added. “We have long campaigned to bring an end to non-stun slaughter and would like to see a change in the law which would protect the welfare of millions of farmed animals.”
The organisation said it acknowledged that religious beliefs and practices should be respected but “all animals should be treated humanely at the time of killing and therefore be stunned prior to slaughter”.
The RSPCA is also calling for a ban on exporting non-stunned meat from the UK, “which we believe breaks the tenet of the country’s slaughter legislation”, it said.
“The current figures released by the FSA on exports of non-stunned meat are ambiguous at best but show exports of halal non-stunned meat,” said Bowles. “We urge the FSA to offer more clarity on this issue on numbers and destinations of this meat, which we believe is against the thrust of the law.”
UK legislation requires all farm animals to be stunned before slaughter, which means they are unconscious at the time of slaughter so they cannot feel pain or suffer.
However, laws in UK nations, inherited from the EU, contain exemptions that permit the slaughter of sheep, goats, cattle and birds without pre-stunning. This exemption is made when the slaughter is for religious purposes, such as halal and kosher meat for Muslim and Jewish communities.
It can be considered permissible under Islamic law for the animals to be pre-stunned. In fact, the FSA figures show that in 2024 around 88% of animals slaughtered in the UK by the halal method were stunned first, showing that animal welfare and religious slaughter could work together, the charity said.
“The statements made by the RSPCA and the NSS are provocative and pejorative,” said Shimon Cohen of Shechita UK. ”The FSA Survey 2024 reports that Shechita has increased by 2%. Yet this rise is negligible in terms of raw numbers, increasing from 0.2% in 2022 to 0.3% in 2024, a tiny proportion of the 19 plus million animals slaughtered. Furthermore, this increase ensures the continued provision of Kosher meat, an essential for Jewish life in this country.”
Cohen added that the Shechita method conforms to the EU definition of stunning as “certainly no crueller or less effective” than other methods.
”One might have thought that an organisation self-proclaiming and dedicated to “preventing cruelty” would focus its attention on the numerous failures of these mechanical stunning processes as well as the oft-reported abuses at abattoirs,” he added. “That the RSPCA and others chooses to target on the Kosher method, so small in number and so vital for Jewish communities, raises more questions.”
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