Excerpt:
The non-stun slaughter debate between the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Halal Authority Board (HAB) has intensified, with the BVA saying it was appalled by suggestions made in an HAB open letter.
The HAB letter, addressed to BVA president Robin Hargreaves, was in response to the vets' campaign to stop non-stun slaughter. It said the group is "racially or politically motivated", and criticised the BVA for focussing only on the last few second of an animals' life, ignoring the many other welfare issues. The HAB letter also read: "It appears that there needs to be more of a balance in their comments and avoid unfair criticism on the Muslim and Jewish methods of slaughter as, probably, they are seen as soft targets. Any such criticisms they make against religious slaughter methods show them to be ill-informed and insensitive to the halal and kosher consumers as well as ignorant of the huge halal market in the UK, Europe and throughout the world."