Halal Hell!

When I returned from work last night, I heard some good news from Britain for a change. Lancashire County Council had voted to ban the use of Halal meat in its schools. Around twenty seven faculties will be affected, encompassing twelve thousand pupils. The ban was championed by Conservative leader Geoff Driver, who like me believes the practice of killing an animal, without first being stunned as 'abhorrent and cruel.' Local Councillors voted 41 to 24 to ban the meat from all its council run schools.

Religious leaders, representing those affected by the ban, were quick to cry foul play, claiming children in greatest need, would be the ones who suffer disproportionately, creating huge difficulties for families, who would stop their children from eating a  hot meal at school. Mr Driver made it clear, this was a matter of principle; protecting animals being his main concern.

It is interesting to note that UK law requires farm animals to be stunned before slaughter, but interestingly makes an exemption on religious grounds. I find this a terrible indictment of Britain's attitude towards extreme religious practices, Animal welfare must come first, not the views of religious fanatics,

I have always found the production of Halal meat an abomination. I am first and foremost an animal lover and am shocked that Britain would allow such slaughter to take place. The pain the animals go through is unthinkable. What civilized country would condone such butchery, towards another living creature?

Other countries such as Denmark and New Zealand stipulate, all animals must be stunned before they are killed, even for Halal meat. These are large meat producing nations; why can't Britain do the same? In my opinion we pander too much towards the needs of religions, whose teachings are based on manuscrips thousands of years old. We need to ban Halal entirely and stop allowing faith, in whatever form the right to hijack our everyday lives.

Well done Lancashire for doing the decent thing; lets hope other councils and organisations follow and put pay to this repugnant convention. The United Kingdom needs to stand up more, for the values it holds dear, this includes ethical treatment of livestock, which is being undermined by the Halal industry. I have personally signed many petitions and written to Members of Parliament in my time, expressing my views; did I get a reply? Of course I didn't! I am not part of a large religious lobby group, so my views don't count; make sure yours do!