Council faces Muslim boycott of school meals after banning 'abhorrent' halal beef and lamb from unstunned animals

• 27 Lancashire schools serve meat from halal suppliers that don't stun animals 
• But council's Conservative leader proposed a ban, which has now been passed 
• Raises prospect of another boycott of halal meat in schools by Muslim children 

Thousands of Muslims are expected to boycott school meals in a county after its council became Britain's first to ban halal beef and lamb from unstunned animals.

Some 27 schools across Lancashire serve meat from halal suppliers that do not stun animals before slaughter, including Church of England and Catholic schools.

But the county council's Conservative leader Geoff Driver proposed a ban, calling the practice an 'abhorrent' one that causes animals unnecessary stress and pain.

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Some 27 schools across Lancashire serve meat from halal suppliers that do not stun animals before slaughter, including Catholic schools. (Pictured: File image of a school in London)

This week councillors voted 41 for the ban – which excludes poultry - with 24 of them against and 15 abstentions, reported the Lancashire Telegraph.

It raises the prospect of another boycott of halal meat in schools by thousands of Muslim children, following a similar policy being adopted in the area in 2012.

Abdul Qureshi, chairman of Lancashire Council of Mosques, had said last month that Muslims would boycott school meals if the council banned non-stunned meat.

Mr Driver exempted poultry from the ban because stunning chickens may kill them before slaughter and bleeding - therefore clearly breaking Muslim rules

Mr Driver said: 'This is an animal welfare issue and an animal welfare issue alone. It is not anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim. I have brought it forward purely because the supply contract is up for renewal.

100m animals a year in UK are killed using halal

More than 100million animals are killed in the UK every year using the halal method. Most are chickens, but the total is thought to include more than six million sheep.

A further 2.1million animals are killed under the Jewish shechita method, which is required for kosher certification. The UK halal trade is worth £2.6billion and there is a growing export market, particularly in the Middle East.

Halal is Arabic for 'permissible' and refers to food that meets Islamic law as defined in the Koran.

Dhabiha, the Islamic form of slaughter, involves killing through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe. Under UK animal welfare laws the knife must be sharp enough to kill immediately.

The slaughterman must be Muslim and, in theory, a religious verse should be recited. In many abattoirs a recording is played over a loudspeaker.

The Halal Food Authority, which polices slaughter methods, says stunning can only be used if the animal survives and is then killed under halal ritual. But some Islamic groups do not allow any stunning before slaughter. 

'Killing animals without stunning them beforehand causes them unnecessary stress, pain and discomfort.'

Councillors Azhar Ali and Mohammed Iqbal both tried to delay the vote, with the latter saying: 'This is taking choice away from schools and children.'

National Secular Society campaigns director Stephen Evans told MailOnline: 'The practice of imposing un-stunned meat from religious slaughter methods on pupils, public service users and the general populace is completely unacceptable, and needs to end. We commend Lancashire on its decision.

'As long as religious groups are granted an exemption from legislation aimed at ensuring animals do not suffer avoidable distress or pain, the number of animals killed under the exemption should be kept to an absolute minimum – and consumers must be able to avoid such products.

'A majority of Muslims accept pre-stunning and we would urge all schools and local authorities to resist being bullied into unethical and regressive policy decisions by fundamentalist faith leaders claiming to speak on behalf of all Muslims.'

In 2014, it was revealed hundreds of schools had banned sausages and bacon, and switched to halal-only meat for meals even where Muslims were in the minority.

Many families of other faiths and none were angered and upset by the move which was being done by schools and councils with little or no consultation.

At least two dinner ladies had been sacked in the previous year after serving non-halal food to Muslim students by accident.  

The driving force was cost because it is far easier and cheaper to have a single source of halal meat for everyone, rather than having to provide a segregated menu. 

Council first in UK to BAN unstunned halal meat in school dinners after row with Muslims

Lancashire County Council voted to stop using it in 27 council-run schools following a lengthy meeting on Thursday.

Council leader Geoff Driver branded the practice of not stunning animals before they are slaughtered as "abhorrent" and "really cruel”.

Councillors voted 41 to 24 for the change, with 15 abstentions, meaning from December the 27 schools will only serve stunned halal beef and lamb.

According to the National Secular Society, four other councils use unstunned meat - Leeds, Leicester, Bradford, and Telford and Wrekin.

Councillor Azhar Ali had called for the halal meat debate to be suspended to allow the council to discuss the plans with Jewish and Muslim groups, but the amendment was rejected.

Mr Driver said he thought three councillors who had previously looked at this issue were biased by their faith, to which Muslim councillor Mohammed Iqbal responded that the comments made him “very unhappy”.

Mr Iqbal added the comments caused "offence to him and his faith", prompting Mr Driver to apologise, saying he didn’t intend to cause offence.

The move has been unpopular with some Muslims and Abdul Qureshi, the acting chief executive of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, called on children to boycott their school lunches if the vote went against him.

He told the Telegraph the RSPCA’s guidance "is most of the time based on feelings, it's not scientifically conclusive”.

An RSPCA spokesman responded: “I utterly, completely refuse to cede that's where our views come from. Ourselves, the British Veterinary Association and the Humane Slaughter Association signed a joint statement saying the only humane way to kill an animal is to stun it.

"There is countless scientific evidence showing that when an animal has its neck cut it feels quite considerable pain.

"The farm animal welfare council is of the opinion that the only humane way to kill an animal to stun it.

"You take New Zealand - everything is pre-stunned there, and it's all Halal, it's exported to countries in the Middle East and they all accept that it is Halal.

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Lancashire Council's decision may prompt others to follow suit

“We, for animal welfare reasons, would be quite happy if unstunned meat was banned across the UK.”

Halal food is that which follows the rule of Islamic law as defined by the Koran.

The Islamic way of slaughtering animals involves killing through cutting the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe, before draining the blood from the carcass and reciting a dedication, known as tasmiya to shahada.

Animals must be alive and healthy when they’re killed and all the blood is drained out.

Stunning the animal before slaughter is frowned upon by some Muslims because some fear this method can kill the animal.