Banham Poultry Goes into Administration !

[Surfer 1,547]

IMO from the chicken''s perspective it''s still dead Van Wink. Halal v non-halal methods may not involve as much of a difference as assumed.

"... contrary to what many assume, most animals killed by halal methods are stunned before slaughter. .. In non-halal slaughterhouses ... poultry are (- my question inserted : often or always? -) now killed using gas. But they have traditionally been shackled, hung upside down on a production line, moved through electrified water to stun them, then conveyed to a mechanical neck cutter. In halal, however, they are killed by hand"

[lake district canary 4,545]

[quote user="Surfer"]IMO from the chicken''s perspective it''s still dead Van Wink. Halal v non-halal methods may not involve as much of a difference as assumed.

"... contrary to what many assume, most animals killed by halal methods are stunned before slaughter. .. In non-halal slaughterhouses ... poultry are (- my question inserted : often or always? -) now killed using gas. But they have traditionally been shackled, hung upside down on a production line, moved through electrified water to stun them, then conveyed to a mechanical neck cutter. In halal, however, they are killed by hand"[/quote]

Just another reason to consider going veggy I reckon.   Halal or not, the older I get the more and the more I find out about the way animals are treated, the more I look for alternatives....

[Van wink 2,994]

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/contact-us/faqs-halal-chicken-slaughter/

[Surfer 1,547]

Thanks for that, sounds like gas is mainly used to stun chickens for non-halal consumption then - either way the birds throat is cut - but reading the above link it suggests that a pesky EU regulation that would have ensured a more humane slaughter was ignored....

"This issue came to light on the 20th May 2014 when DEFRA failed to implement WATOK (Welfare At The Time of Killing). The EU Regulation which came into effect on 1 January 2013, stipulates currents for waterbath stunning that should ensure an effective stun, so that the chicken will remain unconscious long enough for his/her throat to be slit.

EU legislation states the current in the water-bath should be 200 milliamps (current) at 400 to 1,500 hertz (frequency) and the stun must be effective. In reality, we are now aware that the current used is around a quarter of the required 200 milliamps. This means chickens will be immobilised by a painful electric shock before being slaughtered whilst fully conscious.

This ineffective stunning will continue to affect the 26-30% of chickens produced in the UK that are slaughtered under Halal certification unless EU legislation is effectively enforced"

Sounds like it ain''t halal methods per-se at fault, just the usual incompetence or a willful evasion of the rules that affects so much of compliance across all sorts of industries.

[Van wink 2,994]

I think part of the explanation may also be below Surfer

"Why don’t Halal abattoirs want to stun chickens effectively?

As far as we understand there are concerns about potential damage to

the carcass of the chicken when it is effectively stunned. We have also

been told that the equipment required to provide legal stunning is not

in place and would be expensive to install.

With effective stunning methods, there is a small risk of the animal

dying from the stun rather than the throat cut. If the animal is unable

to recover after being stunned it is currently not deemed acceptable for

Halal meat."

Is this the same as conventional stunning?

It is the same as conventional waterbath stunning. We don’t have

exact figures but we believe that pretty much only Halal stunning of

chicken uses waterbaths now. The move has been to gas-stunning in the

rest of the industry.

[nutty nigel 7,612]

I expect it will be better after Brexit.....

[Surfer 1,547]

Yes that''s consistent feedback @Van wink.

It seems most of the industry has moved to Carbon Dioxide or Nitrogen gas based stunning - so presumably the bird just becomes unconscious from a lack of Oxygen - in which case I don''t understand why that''s not compatible with Halal requirements the animal is still alive when it''s throat is cut (as it is still alive for non-Halal too)?

Also the ineffective stunning using the traditional electrical waterbath method may be because operators don''t want to spend the money to upgrade their equipment. if that is so shame on them, or perhaps halal needs to carry more of a price premium.

As long as the bird is humanly killed, I don''t think there is much of an issue here with Halal v non-Halal. It''s a simple fact of life we will continue to kill hundreds of millions of birds every year to feed just our UK population.

[Herman 9,823]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]I expect it will be better after Brexit.....[/quote]

There will be plenty of jobs for chicken chokers after Brexit.Winky can''t wait[:D]

[Van wink 2,994]

MEP''s will be looking for gainfull employment.👍