Parents say they are “furious” after claiming a school has given their children no choice over whether they eat halal meat or not.
A letter sent out by Portland Primary Academy in Bilborough advised parents of a change of school meals, which included a note that all meat was halal.
The school says only chicken meat will be halal – the term for a method of slaughtering animals in line with Islamic law.
But parents said the children should be allowed a choice over whether to eat they want to eat this type of meat or not and objected to the method.
Jenni Tyas, of Bilborough, sends two of her four children, aged eight and 11, to the school. “It’s disgusting,” she said.
“There should be a choice and we should have been consulted over it in the first place.
“When I saw what it said on the letter, I sat down and explained to my children what halal meat was, and how the animal was killed, and they said they didn’t want to eat it any more.
“We pay for our school meals so we should have a choice.
“I’ve been having to send them in with packed lunches, but they want a warm dinner during the winter.
“A lot of other parents have been down to the school to speak about it,” she added.
Landlady Sonia Sheppard sends her 10-year-old son Elliot to the school.
She said: “It’s not about religion, it’s about choice.
“Everyone should be able to have a choice of what they want to eat no matter what religion they are. We are a big family of animal lovers.
“We’re not vegetarian but we don’t agree with the way the animals are killed to make halal meat.”
A statement was issued by the school after it was contacted by the Post.
It said: “Due to a change in our supplier’s arrangements, our supplier has confirmed from Monday that all chicken meat will be halal, all other meat is not halal.
“Any changes advised by the supplier will be communicated to the community through our website.”
For meat to be halal it has to be killed in a certain way, known as Zibah.
The definition of halal, as described by the Halal Food Authority, “requires animals to be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter, since carrion is forbidden and, jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe have to be severed by a razor sharp knife by a single swipe, to incur as less pain as possible.”
The blood is then drained out of the animal, as the Qur’an forbids blood to be consumed.
The school’s supplier, Nottingham University Samworth Academy, was unable to provide a comment.