British deal to sell non-stun-slaughtered halal lambs to Saudi Arabia is condemned

Senior British politicians and animal welfare groups have condemned the government over a deal that allows meat from lambs slaughtered without being stunned to be exported to Saudi Arabia.

They say the deal, estimated by the government to be worth £25 million (US$32 million) over the next five years, shows a disregard for animal welfare and signals that after Brexit it will become acceptable to lower standards to secure trade deals.

When the food minister George Eustice announced the deal in February, it was unclear whether the animals would be stunned before being slaughtered in the UK. But the only UK scheme approved by the Riyadh-based Gulf Accreditation Centre to certify the exported meat is the Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC), which forbids all forms of stunning, Vet Record magazine reported.

The Liberal Democrats’ food spokesperson, Tim Farron, said: “The government has shown extreme negligence by announcing such a significant deal without full consideration of the details. This does not bode well, as post-Brexit the UK will inevitably receive pressure from new trading partners to open markets to low-welfare animal products.”

Under EU and UK law, all animals should be stunned – usually with a bolt gun to the brain or electrocution ­– before being slaughtered, so they are unable to feel pain. But there is an exemption that allows non-stun slaughter for meat intended for religious communities within the EU. MPs and animal welfare campaigners believe the deal to supply meat to the Saudis at least goes against the spirit of this exemption.

The Labour MP Kerry McCarthy, a former shadow environment secretary, said: “The exemption is clearly there to meet the needs of our own religious communities, not those abroad.