General Discussion
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700557?reveal_response=yes
"In modern society, we believe more consideration needs to be given to animal welfare and how livestock is treated and culled.
We believe non-stun slaughter is barbaric and doesn't fit in with our culture and modern-day values and should be banned, as some EU nations have done."
Parliament will debate this petition on 9 June 2025. https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Commons
This is a disgrace, has no place in our country, it must be banned.
Any MP that thinks different should say why they support cruelty to animals.
I shall watch this debate. We will see which MPs have a backbone and which are spineless.
@Paul Which mainly concerns you?
Animal welfare in general or simply at the point of slaughter?
Or Jewish and Muslim practice of eating the flesh of animals that aren't stunned prior to slaughter?
@Steve It'll be going on in this country because it's profitable.
The RSPCA turn a blind eye to cruelty against animals every single day of the year from farming to horse racing. What makes anyone think they'd intervene in the halal slaughter of animals?
Debate today. 16:30 Westminster Hall. (2025-06-09)
Watch it here - https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/120431fc-1c39-4931-bb8e-28186509ae6b
Debate info - https://whatson.parliament.uk/event/cal52143
Good debate, but same old government line at the end.
The government would like all animals to be stunned before slaughter but also respect religious beliefs.
So the government allows the animal cruelty to continue.
DISGRACEFUL.
It's another step backwards for a country that's in decline.
Decades of animal welfare progress all for nothing.
@Paul and @Steve I don't believe you're truly concerned with animal welfare. I think you're just pretending to give a damn about animal welfare at the point of slaughter because it happens to suit your anti-islamic views.
@Steve Decades of animal welfare progress? What are your views on horse racing then? Badger culling? Illegal fox hunting? What are your views on animal farming in general? Do you think that's cruel? Are you vegan? Where's the concern for animal welfare during the rest of an animal's lifetime?
Although the debate was well mannered and all contributors spoke with passion, the supporters of non-stun/halal/kosher slaughter did not make any sense, contradicted themselves and each other.
Not banning this evil is simply wrong, it has no place in our country. Starmer’s weak government has even let animals down now.
@Paul, it's impossible to defend such barbaric ritualistic cruelty, which is why the supporters had nothing of any substance to say.
@DAC
Your being a bit over the top to say you think Paul and Steve are anti islamic, surely the main point is the cruel way the animals are killed, and then you launch into a diatribe about all other animal issues which takes away the main point of steve and pauls worthwhile post.
@Steve I agree there is no defence for what is ritualistic cruelty. But what's the defence for non ritualized cruelty in the day to day farming of animals? Is cruelty okay as long as it isn't ritualized?
@1263 There's nothing over the top about it, it is based on what I've read on various threads from these two contributors. I did not launch into anything, I simply do not believe that they're genuinely interested in animal welfare and rights.
And why are other 'animal issues', in your opinion, tangential to the main point?
Of course opposing halal practice is worthwhile, but if they only oppose cruelty to animals carried out during Islamic practices at the point of slaughter then there's another agenda at play rather than genuine concern for animal welfare in general.
They've not shared their views on animal farming or whether they're vegan. It's clear they're not exactly animal rights activists.
End the use of cages and crates for all farmed animals.
Every year in the UK, millions of farmed animals experience huge suffering confined in cages. From millions of laying hens unable to express their natural behaviours to mother pigs nursing their piglets confined in narrow crates, to calves, quail and game birds.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2025-0121/
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/706302
Debate will be on Monday 2025-06-16. https://www.parliamentlive.tv/
Will the government do anything about this? I'm beginning to think they won't. 
@Paul Did the Conservative government do anything about cruelty to animals in farming? No.
Where was your animal rights activism then? Or have you become one since Labour got into power?
Labour won't do anything about it. Farm animals are simply seen as commodities, in other words 'live stock' and the entire industry is based on cruelty and exploitation.
The removal of crates and cages will simply drive up the cost of meat, dairy products, eggs, etc for the consumer. Labour won't do anything to further alienate themselves from the electorate, given their punitive decisions over winter fuel payments, NICS, etc.
The animals are all caged up and crammed into lorries before going to the slaughter house, so they're terrified before being stunned or not anyway.
So Mrs Piggy and her kids have 'rights' before humans decide at which point they're to become a bacon sarnie and pork chops?
Who finds it easier to stun a terrified animal before slaughter than having to slit its throat?
The answer is nobody because the killing is outsourced to abattoir workers who have some of the highest rates of ill mental health in society and unsurprisingly the highest rates of suicide. And many abattoir workers are immigrants because British people refuse to do this job.
End the use of cages and crates for all farmed animals debate.
Another good debate and I learnt quite a lot from the expertise of the speakers. This is a complex issue.
The government minister said the gov is comitted to improving animal welfare and will strive to improve it, via consultation with all stakeholders. Over £20M provided to help 'hen egg' farmers to improve hen welfare.
Pig farrowing crates provide protection for the piglets and the farmer. Alternatives are shown in the image below.
Conclusion is that the UK has high animal welfare standards but it can always be improved and there are efforts to do so.
Seems like many millions to make commodities' lives slightly less sh1t than they already are before they're murdered.
Yeah, maybe the answer is to stop eating meat and just drink protein shakes or some synthetically produced meat (if/when it's available). I eat meat, but it's probably wrong to do so.
The general consensus is that animal welfare is important, let's keep improving animal welfare standards and laws.
@Paul I wasn't debating right and wrong. Animal welfare is secondary to profit, whether animals are bred for food or for sports. Livestock farming also has a negative environmental impact. Growth hormones and anti-biotics, coupled with cases of contamination where meats are basically marinated in faecal matter post slaughter means the welfare of those eating these 'animal products' isn't a priority either. Animal welfare is BS. We might as well discuss the welfare situation in modern slavery.
Animal welfare is to ease the consciences of people who eat animals packaged as a chop or a steak from a butchers or supermarkets, but couldn't stomach having to kill an animal themselves.