Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
the 5th World Halal Summit 2019, İstanbul, Türkiye, 28 Kasım - 01 Aralık 2019, cilt.5, sa.5, ss.1-3
The question of killing meat animals for food has been unresolved matter
of discussion for more than a century in some societies. In Islamic belief, to
make Dhabiḥa permissible (ritual slaughter of animals) the animal is required
to humane handling and blessed with the name of Allah (Tasmiya) during the slaughtering
for food. Most countries have legislation requiring that animals are rendered
unconscious (stunned) by a humane method prior to bleeding. Exceptions are made
for religions that require that ritual slaughter without prior stunning is practiced
provided that the slaughter method is humane. Many Islamic councils and boards
have issued fatwas (legal/religious opinion or decree) regarding the matter of
stunning just before to slaughter animals any means leading to death is not
Islamic. Almost all fatwas indicate that the meat sourced from stunned animals
is doubtful or forbidden to eat. Frequently approved that stunning an animal
before slaughtering may lead to direct death of the animal if the stun is quite
high or hard, but largely cause loss of consciousness without killing if it is
mildly or moderately applied.
It has been speculated that stunning causes injury to medulla oblongata
in the brain and controls blood circulation and respiration, which results in less
bleeding in normal conditions. Constriction of the vascular system in muscles and
clots of blood is one of the major disadvantages of the stunning. In some cases,
severity of brain damage leads to cut off the communication between heart and
brain and as a matter, the bleeding process will terminate. Stunning is also
painful to animals which much more stressful than ritual slaughter because the
animals get harm twice; stunning and exsanguination. Some scientists claim that
captive bolt, axe, hummer and high current methods are cruel methods and have
no place in animal welfare. Also, sometimes mis-stun and/or ineffective stun requires
having done it again so the repeated stun may cause additional suffering to pain,
according to the statistics of some surveys (1990s) as much as 0.2% animals
even require third stun. Approximately, 36% of the animals stunned in the wrong
position and 26% of them exhibit rhythmic breathing, which mainly leads to a
delay in bleeding and risk of animal regaining consciousness and becomes very
aggressive. Almost always about 5 % of electrically stunned animals have heart
failure, in which technically animal is dead just before the incision was made.
It should be noted that the unconsciousness that animal experiences and seen
in abattoirs shortly after the stunning is not a real insensibility of the animal,
presumably, it refers to brain disability caused by brain death, damaged
cerebellum, closed head injury, coma, concussion and
locked-in syndrome as a result of stunning.
So, is that not enough proof to make an argument and
object the inhuman or non-halal way of killing the animals for foods?
Certainly, the cruelty of stunning is indisputably inhuman and has to be
re-evaluated by the responsible authorities, even by the animal welfare
advocates. Animal welfare or less cruel methods regarding to the conversion of
animals into food could be adapted by the Sharia law of Islam and Judaism, and
we have to confess that stunning is crueller, more stressful, painful and
inhume for the animals, for that reason the stunning method has to be
re-evaluated in favour of pain reduction on animals during the slaughter process. This
article does not offend those societies who are still implementing stunning
methods but it is rather arguing about the method’s impact that cause emotional, physical and quality
damages on animals and the converted meat products. Therefore, stunning must
not be considered as humane and/or Halal method of slaughtering, and as a
matter of fact that, its validation should be justified. So, the aim of this
study is to clarify the subject in terms of the cruelty of stunning techniques and
the debate on ritual slaughter methods in scientific and religious
perspectives.