The Problem with Rupert Lowe’s Argument Against Halal and Kosher Meat

 Rupert Lowe, the independent MP who left Reform after a spat with the party’s leadership, has established himself as one of the country’s most popular X accounts. Since July of last year, he has gained about 390K followers, bringing his total to almost 450K. His posts frequently rack up thousands or tens of thousands of likes. And unlike those of many politicians, they don’t get bombarded with negative comments.

One of the topics that Lowe posts about most often is halal and kosher meat—both of which he wants to see banned.

To give you a bit of background: British law requires that farm animals be stunned (i.e., rendered unconscious) before they are slaughtered unless they are being killed in accordance with Muslim or Jewish religious rites, in which case the animal’s throat may be cut while it is still alive. Pro-secular and animal rights groups have long campaigned against this exemption but have not been successful.

The exemption is an obvious case of multiculturalism interfering with the rule of law. If a farmer kills an animal by cutting its throat, he can be fined or even jailed. But if he does the exact same thing while observing halal or kosher customs, he will not be punished. It would be like having a law that says you must not commit assault unless you say a prayer beforehand.

So far, so good. I agree with Lowe that we should ban ritual slaughter—just like Sweden, Denmark and several other countries have. But there’s a major flaw in his argument.

Describing non-stun killing as “un-British”, Lowe proclaims that “we treat our animals with care and respect.” This is completely false. The majority of animals raised for livestock in Britain are factory farmed and are therefore treated with immense cruelty. While Lowe may uphold high standards of welfare on his own farm, most industrial farmers do not....<<<Read More>>>...

If Rupert Lowe’s Anti-Halal Campaign Succeeds it Could Lead to a Ban on Country Sports

 The independent MP Rupert Lowe, once part of the Reform stable until a tiff with Nigel Farage, has been waging a campaign this summer to have the halal slaughter of meat banned on the grounds that slitting the throat of a live animal is cruel and barbaric.

One of his recent Facebook posts on the subject said:

In a self-respecting Britain, halal slaughter would be outlawed. It doesn’t matter if the communities affected are too large, or it’s too difficult. We treat our animals with care and respect. We don’t slit their throats, and allow them to bleed to death in the most cruel and unnecessary pain. It needs to be banned – all non-stun slaughter needs to be banned.

He wants UK humanitarian standards, involving stunning before slaughter, to be imposed on halal and kosher meat.

Lowe, MP for the impoverished Norfolk constituency of Great Yarmouth, is also in favour of chucking all illegal immigrants out of the UK. In April this year, he co-sponsored an Early Day Motion in Parliament headed “Mass Deportation of illegal immigrants”, which expressed “grave concern at the continued presence of over one million illegal migrants in the United Kingdom” and called for “the Government to implement a comprehensive national strategy to identify, detain, and deport all individuals found to be residing in the United Kingdom illegally”.

So a cynic might believe the anti-halal campaign is in fact a clever ruse to deter uncompromising Muslims from coming to the UK. But even if Lowe did not co-sponsor the EDM with that in mind, it is easy to suppose that a great many people who are disturbed by the economic and cultural effects of mass migration, from predominantly Muslim countries, might see it as a great deterrent. And a wonderful way to look pro-animal rather than racist.

There are two problems with this. The first one is that, according to all the reports I’ve read, upwards of 80% of halal meat in the UK – the sort you see in all supermarkets now – is stunned before being killed. The likelihood is that more traditional unstunned throat-slitting is carried out privately in the poorer Muslim ghetto communities, where people tend to close ranks when nosy officialdom comes knocking at the door. Policing it would be extremely difficult.

The bigger problem I foresee, though, is that such a law could easily be co-opted to support the endless campaigns against shooting game in the UK. This matter was by no means settled by the recent vote by MPs against a ban on grouse shooting. That was not primarily about cruelty but about conservation....<<<Read More>>>...

Halal Certification Stamp - Today Tonight (Australia) 07/03/2012