Certification
MALAYSIA: Islamic Religious Councils Advised To Set Up Own Abattoirs
State Islamic religious councils have been advised to set up their own abattoirs to ensure confidence among Muslims that meat and poultry slaughter processes were truly Halal. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Major-General (Rtd) Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said the respective councils could achieve this by forming a subsidiary company or by cooperating with other companies. He said there were still people who questioned the Halal status of slaughtered poultry.
UNITED KINGDOM: Stunning of cattle a big issue in Europe's abattoirs
The Dutch Parliament has angered Muslims and Jews by moving to ban killing of animals in abattoirs without stunning first. Ritual killing for religious reasons must now be preceded in the Netherlands by the use of a gas or electric stun gun. The UK Government is under pressure to do the same, but in response, a group of non-stunning abattoirs in Britain has formed an association. Spokesman for Halal Food, Abdalhamid Evans, says it's trying to stand up to the power of animal rights groups.
Filed Under: Slaughter
INDONESIA: The Australian live cattle ban
The Australian livestock industry said it understands why the Australian government decided to temporarily suspend the live cattle trade to Indonesia until a controlled system that will assure the welfare of Australian cattle exported to Indonesia has been implemented, according to Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA). The controlled system is part of a solution package developed by the Australian industry and presented to government.
AUSTRALIA: Company claims it could have supplied more of the humane restraining boxes
An engineering company in Queensland says it could have produced more of the humane restraining boxes for Australian cattle slaughtered overseas, but it wasn't asked. Meat and Livestock Australia has funded several projects to assess and build improved restraining boxes. But Gary Stark, from Stark Engineering, says he only supplied nine hydraulic assisted boxes last year.
Filed Under: Slaughter
NETHERLANDS: Dutch approve ban on kosher and Halal animal slaughter
The Dutch parliament voted on Tuesday to ban ritual slaughter of animals, a move strongly opposed by the country's Muslim and Jewish minorities, but left a loophole that could let traditional butchery continue. The bill by the small Animal Rights Party, the first such group in Europe to win seats in a national parliament, passed the lower house of parliament and must be approved by the upper house before becoming law.
U.S.A: Halal Meat Practice Heats National Debate
The controversy over the appropriate method of slaughtering an animal while taking account of the Islamic rules and meeting consumers’ demand erupted again with a recent decision by the Al-Safa company. Halal Advocates of America says that Al Safa changed its slaughter process for chickens without informing its customers beforehand. The certification company says that some consumers had continued to buy the Al-Safa’s products while the slaughter process has been modified. For many years, the company has been using the term ''zabihah'' on its packaging to describe the process it uses to slaughter meat. This term is understood by some to refer to a method, which employs hand slaughter by a Muslim. The reference ''zabihah'' has been finally removed from the packages of chicken products.
Filed Under: Slaughter
NETHERLANDS: Humane Animal Slaughter Law Angers Dutch Religious Communities
The Dutch Parliament will vote today (Tuesday 28 June 2011) on a law that could create a rift between its animal rights community and Muslim and Jewish minorities. The law would prescribe humane slaughter for all animals, regardless of ritual conventions, essentially eliminating kosher and Halal slaughter. Muslim and Jewish communities are understandably upset, and see the move as a sign of religious intolerance, but the animal rights activists who proposed the legislation see it as an extension of the Netherlands’ progressive ethical legislation. The issue is complicated by the fact that the bill was sponsored by a tiny animal rights party, which only has two seats in the legislature. It’s being supported, however, by the Liberal and Labour parties.
Filed Under: Slaughter
MALAYSIA: Fatwa council to decide on Halal Beer
The National Fatwa Council is to decide on whether a beer branded as Halal being sold in the country is permissible. Principal assistant director of the dakwah division of Jakim, the Islamic Development Department, Mat Ali Sarbini, said the beer is regarded as illicit until and unless the council rules otherwise. He said that samples of the beer were with a university laboratory to be analysed.
MALAYSIA: Amendments to Trade Descriptions Act to Facilitate Enforcement on Halal Certificate
The amendments to the Trade Descriptions Act 1972, when approved, will facilitate the Islamic Development Department and the State Islamic Religious Council in carrying checks to determine the status of Halal certificate at business premises in the country. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said the amendments would also provide for action be taken against premises using fake or invalid Halal certificates.
NETHERLANDS: Dutch Jews, Muslims appeal ritual slaughter plan
Jewish and Muslim representatives Thursday (16 June 2011) appealed to Dutch lawmakers not to enforce plans requiring animals to be stunned before Halal and kosher slaughtering rituals. "We are against any form of stunning because it's against our religion," Yusuf Altuntas, president of the CMO -- an organisation that links the Muslim community with the Dutch government -- told a parliamentary commission. "One of the first measures taken during the Occupation (during World War II) was the closing of kosher abattoirs," Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs added during the debate in The Hague. Dutch law required animals to be stunned before being slaughtered but made an exception for ritual Halal and kosher slaughters.