[WATCH] Just a media scare? The non-debate on halal meat

The Islamic method of slaughtering animals for food – halal – has generated a mediatic storm in the teacup after Imam Mohammed El Sadi called for the practice to be done without the animal being stunned before it is killed.

The Imam’s comments were a welcome lightning rod for Islamophobic keyboard warriors, after El Sadi told TVM news that he wanted permission to have animals slaughtered without stunning, as a matter of religious freedom.

The report failed to show however how halal slaughter, the Islamic form of slaughtering animals or poultry, has been happening in Malta at the public abattoir for almost a decade.

Hocine Youbi, who runs the Aquaduct Butchery, says his clients ask about the provenance of his meats, which he makes sure is halal-certified, and labelled appropriately

The method involves killing the animal through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe. Animals must be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter and all blood is drained from the carcass. During the process, a Muslim will recite a dedication, known as tasmiya or shahada.

The Malta abattoir slaughters around 120 to 150 animals using the Halal method every week. Six years ago, the number was just 30 a week

The only difference between the Halal slaughter practised in Malta, and those performed abroad is that the animals are stunned, as required by EU law. However, whilst the EU and Malta do allow exceptions for religious practices, it’s on a case by case basis.

Abattoir chief officer Manuel Schembri told MaltaToday the halal slaughter in Marsa has been carried out for at least six years. “Halal slaughter, much like other forms of slaughter is more or less the same. The animals enter the abattoir; they are stunned, irrelevant of whether it is Halal or not. Then someone who is Muslim will slaughter the animal in the Halal ritual.”

The ritual is important to persons of the Muslim faith, who cannot consume meat without the blessing. The owner of Aquaduct Halal Butcher, Hocine Youbi, said that making sure the animal feels no pain was an essential part of halal slaughter – he said that the term ‘halal’ represented a lifestyle, that is, good actions are also considered halal. If an animal were to experience pain before death, that would make the meat automatically ‘haram’ or sinful to consume.

Abattoir chief officer Manuel Schembri says the slaughter of animals using the Islamic rite has increased and has been taking place for the past six years

“The animal must be in a healthy state before slaughter, and it must be an animal that can be eaten. It cannot be a lion, crocodile or a meat eater. They must be animals like lamb, cattle, goats, chickens, rabbit or camel. You then invoke God, and they are slaughtered by slashing the windpipe and jugular veins, the knife must ensure a straight kill, no delays and no other animal can witness the slaughter,” he said.

Youbi said a fair amount of his clients are Maltese, some of whom purchase halal meat because they prefer the taste – as the animal has been drained prior, there is a less prominent taste of blood.

Youbi says that for most of his clients, the stunning of an animal before the halal slaughter is not an issue

But Youbi says that for most of his clients, the stunning of an animal before the halal slaughter is not an issue – but he does get people who ask. “People ask about where the animal has been slaughtered. It is their right to know.” And for those who do have an issue with it, many butchers across the island have begun importing Halal meat from other countries. “In other countries, the meat can be certified as halal, by Muslim government authorities or Muslim associations.”

The truth is halal meat eating is more common in Malta then Maltese people think, especially when one of the Maltese nation’s favourite foods – the Turkish kebab – is more often than not halal meat.

Schembri said that on a weekly basis, the abattoir slaughters around 120 to 150 animals using the Halal method. “Way back, six or seven years ago, I remember we had started with just 30 animals, and it’s been gradually increasing over time.”

Stunning of livestock

Stunning of livestock has been mandatory in the the EU since 1979, although member states can grant exemptions for religious slaughter.

Some countries, including Denmark, have opted to ban non-stunning slaughter altogether. Malta allows religious slaughter once an animal is stunned.

• Mandatory in EU since 1979, but exemptions can be granted for religious slaughter

• Method enables abattoirs to process animals more quickly

• Mis-stuns involving captive bolt occur "relatively frequently", European Food Safety Authority report says - leaving animal conscious and in pain

• Animals can also regain consciousness

What is halal meat?

Halal is Arabic for permissible. Halal food is that which adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran.

The Islamic form of slaughtering animals or poultry, dhabiha, involves killing through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe.

Animals must be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter and all blood is drained from the carcass. During the process, a Muslim will recite a dedication, know as tasmiya or shahada.

There is debate about elements of halal, such as whether stunning is allowed. In Malta, a certain section of the Muslim community is adamant that stunning should not be used to kill an animal, according to strict halal methods, but the Maltese abattoir always stuns the animal before it is killed by halal methods.

There are similarities in the method of slaughter with kosher food, which complies with Jewish dietary law (kashrut), in that both require use of a surgically sharp knife and specially-trained slaughtermen. Unlike for halal, kashrut does not require God’s name to be said before every slaughter after an initial blessing.

Even Jewish law forbids the use of stunning. Kashrut forbids the consumption of certain parts of the carcass, including the sciatic nerve and particular fats.

Halal also forbids consumption of some carcass parts including the testicles and bladder.