Animals stunned quickly in Jewish abbatoirs

I agree with Ted Neville (Letters , 21 August)) in condemning the “appalling act of cruelty meted out to a family¹s pet terrier dog who died after his throat was cut”. I must, however, take issue with his comparison to “Halal and Kosher” methods of slaughter.

His description of them as “relics of a bygone era allowed 60 years after we adopted humane killing methods in abbatoirs” and call to “end this barbaric (sic) practice” is based on a lack of understanding of their operation.

While I cannot comment on the details of Muslim practice, I am familiar with shechitah, the Jewish method of slaughter.

In shechitah, the animal’s throat is cut with an extremely sharp knife so it is highly unlikely that it feels anything at the time of incision. Those who have cut themselves with a sheet of paper will know that they only became aware of the cut when they saw the bleeding, not having felt anything at the time.

Even the slightest nick in the knife that might catch on the throat tissues renders the process invalid and the slaughterer is obliged to check his knife regularly to ensure that none are present.

As a result of the cut, the blood flows out rapidly and the flow to the brain is reduced to such a low level that unconsciousness sets in within seconds, certainly long before the animal could become aware of what had happened.

In effect, the animal has been stunned extremely efficiently.

Animal Aid recently filmed inside eight randomly chosen (non-Jewish) British slaughterhouses and found evidence of cruelty in seven where animals were kicked, slapped, stamped on, picked up by fleeces and ears, and often improperly stunned before going to the knife while still conscious.

Needless to say such practices would invalidate the shechitah process since, in it, the animal must be completely healthy before slaughter. They are unacceptable and those concerned with animal welfare would do well to concentrate on their elimination rather than trying to enforce the dubious benefits of pre-stunning.

While shechitah is certainly messy, that does not mean that the animal suffers any pain.

Obviously much needs to be done to improve animal welfare all abattoirs but questioning ritual slaughter is a red herring.

Martin D. Stern

Hanover Gardens

Salford

M7 4FQ

England