Petition Ban non-stun & recoverable stun slaughter of animals
Religious slaughter may require the animal to be slaughtered whilst alive, which is in line with their religious beliefs. In relation to this, stunning needs to be recoverable. Normal slaughter uses a bolt gun that renders the animal brain dead and unable to regain consciousness.
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The Government has the power to ban non-stun religious slaughter in this country via legislation. Greece did this in 2021. Many argue that the labelling of meat products via supermarkets is insufficient and can’t be trusted, so we believe a blanket ban on non-stun and recoverable stun animal slaughter is needed. We feel people who disagree with these practices shouldn’t effectively have their rights diminished and shouldn’t be forced to eat meat that has not been stunned-to-kill, due to a lack of options.
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Government responded
This response was given on 6 May 2026
The government prefers all animals to be stunned before slaughter but respects the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.
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The government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter. However, we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. The government therefore has no plans to ban slaughter without stunning.
The key pieces of legislation which cover matters relating to the handling, stunning and slaughter of different species and other relevant operations are The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1782/contents
and assimilated law Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2009/1099/introduction
The legislation sets out the permitted stunning methods for different species. Some of these, such as controlled atmospheric stunning, will kill the animal, and others, such as certain forms of electrical stunning, will make the animal unconscious (a “simple stun”). A simple stun must be followed as quickly as possible by a killing method, such as bleeding or pithing.
Both general slaughter and slaughter by the halal method use simple stunning methods. Annex D of the 2024 Slaughter Sector Survey
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67c5cf0e750837d7604dbdbf/25-02-14_Slaughter_Sector_Survey_2024__REVISED_.pdf
sets out further details of the slaughter methods used during the relevant survey period and shows that, for example, the majority of sheep are electrically stunned whereas cattle are mainly killed by a captive bolt.
For all stunned slaughter, legislation requires checks to be made that animals do not present any signs of consciousness and sensibility between stunning and death. If animals are not properly stunned, appropriate measures such as a back-up stun must be taken.
While there is an exception from stunning for meat for Jews and Muslims, a significant proportion of halal meat comes from animals that are stunned before slaughter. The 2024 Slaughter Sector Survey showed for example that 88% of halal meat chickens in England and Wales were stunned prior to slaughter during the survey week.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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