AUSTRALIA: The Halal/ Kosher debate on ritual slaughter

Debate surrounding the ritual slaughter of animals in Australian abattoirs is hotting up, with animal welfare and livestock groups calling for animal welfare to be paramount in slaughtering.

This comes after it was revealed last week that nine South Australian abattoirs have government approval to kill sheep while they are still conscious, in line with Islamic and Jewish religious custom.

SAFF livestock committee chairman Andrew Ogilvie said while it was important to be sensitive to others' religious requirements, animal welfare should be paramount before slaughter.

"Public opinion has definitely moved on from where it was 10 years ago and it might be a good opportunity to review some of the practices," he said.

"I think everybody believes that the welfare of the animal should come first and if certain religious practices are required, they really should take into account the welfare of the animal.

"The religions that require such practices are sensitive to that too and if some minor adjustments need to be made then I'm pretty sure that with some common sense, negotiations could be achieved."

RSPCA scientific officer for farm animals Melina Tensen said the organisation's stance had always been to ban un-stunned slaughtering and that there was science to back it up.

"The science out there is clear that slaughtering a fully-conscious animal is inhumane because it is subject to pain, suffering and distress," she said.

"Regardless of religious belief, we think that an animal should be stunned before it has its throat cut."

She said the Islamic Council of Australia had accepted stunning as a legitimate part of animal slaughter, meaning that most Halal products came from animals that had been stunned prior to slaughter.