BorealON THE RITUAL SLAUGHTER OF ANIMALSHow Much Pain and Suffering?In its March 8, 2012 edition, Le Point, the popular mainstream French (France) weekly published excerpts from a confidential government report prepared by Le Conseil général de alimentation, de l’agriculture et des espaces ruraux sur La protection animale en abattoir; la question particulière de l’abattoir rituel (Animal Protection In Slaughterhouses: The Question of Ritual Slaughter, my translation). The excerpts reveals that during 2010, 2,068,439 cattle, 382,460 calves, 2,568,444 sheep and 35,713 goats were ritually slaughtered i.e. the animal was not rendered unconscious before having its throat cut and left to bleed to death while restrained. The longest time reported for an animal to die while fully conscious was eleven minutes for calves, followed by six minutes for cattle and five minutes for sheep. No agony time was available for goats. Under the heading Intensité et durée de la douleur: souffrance (Intensity and duration of the pain: suffering) the report goes on to describe the type of pain a ritually slaughtered animal experiences. It’s not for the squeamish. Again, the translation is mine, as are explanatory comments surrounded by round brackets (). The pain that a conscious animal experiences at the time of its throat being slit is assumed to be intense… To be able to compare different method of slaughter as to the amount of pain they cause, we must take into account the visible signs that permit us to gage the intensity of the pain experienced by the conscious animals… The amount of pain will vary depending on the type of animal. A slit throat is in itself painful: • The incision provokes a nociceptive reaction (“pain caused by stimulation of peripheral nerve fibers that respond only to stimuli approaching or exceeding harmful intensity” Wiki) causing extreme pain; • the contraction of the muscle at the point of the incision has to be extremely painful; • blood will fill the lungs provoking a sensation of drowning... The length of time it takes for an animal (that has not been stunned) to become unconscious is a result of many factors: • the constriction of the arteries compensates for the loss of blood and causes an increase in the heart rate; • where cattle is concerned, the vertebral arteries are not cut when the incision is done …; different anastomosis (channels) between the vertebral and cervical arteries allow the vertebral arteries to continue bringing blood to the brain even after the carotid artery has been cut; • other factors may contribute to the time an animal remains conscious e.g. a clot in the carotid artery... Rendering an animal unconscious is both the beginning and the end of its suffering when conventional methods are used. In the ritual slaughter of an animal, unconsciousness comes much later. During this period, which varies among types of animals, the animal, in a conscious state, will be subjected to many painful procedures, some related to the incision made by the person performing the sacrifice, others by the stop and go (“saccadé”) nature of the ritual. Modern, non-ritual slaughtering methods use what is commonly referred to as a captive bolt pistol to render the animal unconscious “to prevent the pain and suffering of the animal during the bleeding (exsanguination) process (which is itself necessary to prevent meat spoilage) during butchering. The principle behind captive bolt stunning is a forceful strike on the forehead using a bolt to induce unconsciousness.” Wiki. Why the Suffering?All the Koran has to say about slaughtering an animal whose meat is destined for the believer's table is that you pronounce Allah's name over it before killing it, except at the Hajj, where He expects you to decorate it beforehand*. 2:173 He has only forbidden you [to eat] carrion, blood, pork and that over which (when slaughtered) any name other than that of Allah is invoked. But he who is constrained (constrained to eat those forbidden things) without intending to disobey or transgress, will commit no sin. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. 5:97 Allah has made the Ka’ba, the Sacred House, a foundation of religion for all mankind, together with the Sacred Month and the sacrificial offerings and their garlands, so that you may know that Allah knows what is in the heavens and on the earth, and that Allah knows everything very well. The suffering comes from the example of the Prophet. The Prophet slaughtered seven Budn (camel) with his own hands while the camels were standing. He also sacrificed two horned rams (black and white in color) at Medina. Bukhari 26.772 Narrated Zaid bin Jubair: I saw Ibn Umar passing by a man who had made his Badana (sacrifce) sit to slaughter it. Ibn Umar said, "Slaughter it while it is standing with one leg tied up as is the tradition of Muhammad." Bukhari 26.771 Narrated Abaya bin Rifaa: My grandfather asked (the Prophet), "We hope (or are afraid) that we may meet the enemy tomorrow and we have no knives. Can we slaughter our animals with canes?" Allah's Apostle replied, "If the instrument used for killing causes the animal to bleed profusely and if Allah's Name is mentioned on killing
it, then eat its meat (i.e. it is lawful) but Bukhari 52.309 Muhammad insisted that an animal "bleed profusely" for its meat to be lawful to eat because, in his day, the fastest and simplest way to ascertain if an animal that showed no obvious signs of life was actually dead, was to cut its throat. If blood flowed in sufficient quantity from the wound the animal, after it had bled to death, could be butchered and eaten. Malik was asked about a sheep which fell down and injured itself badly and then its master reached it and slaughtered it. Blood flowed from it but it did not move. Malik said, "If he kills it and blood flows from it and its eyes blink, he should eat it." Malik’s Muwatta 24.3.7 What if we looked at the Prophet's example and Malik's explanation as foolproof instructions meant for Dark Ages simpletons who did not know any better, and who depended on sayings and scriptures that were a reflection of the beliefs and superstitions of the Age in which they lived for guidance. Looking at scripture ... we have to remember the age in which it was written, the environment and mental climate in which it grew, the vast distance in time and thought and experience that separates it from us. We have to forget the trappings of ritual and religious usage in which it is wrapped, and remember the social background in which it expanded. Nehru In modern Western slaughterhouses the animal is rejected if it is not alive and well and cannot make it onto “the killing floor” with only prodding where it will be stunned into unconsciousness so that it will not feel the horrific pain of its throat being cut then bleeding to death. This care to ensure that an animal is alive but unconscious before being bled—along with extending thanks to Allah for His generosity—should be sufficient to meet halal requirements. God once destroyed an entire city. He just leveled it, brutally killing more than a thousand men, women and children. Allah utterly destroyed the city of Thamud because some jerks had the temerity to cut the hamstring of a favourite camel after one of His messengers, the mythical Arab prophet Salih, told them not to. 91:13 Then Allah’s Messenger said to them: “Beware of Allah’s she-camel and her drinking time.” 91:14 They called him a liar and hamstrung her; whereupon their Lord destroyed them for their sins and settled the matter; 991:15 And He does not fear its sequel. Allah's resounding merciless response to the pain caused to a camel has to be the strongest evidence we have that the Creator of All Things does not like animals to suffer needlessly. And remember, the example of the Prophet is to be ignored if it contradicts the word or the example of God. --------------------- * The ritual slaughter of animals by pilgrims at the Hajj is today largely outsourced and the decorating beforehand of the animal to be tortured to death has largely been abandoned. Usually, the post office is where you send mail or pay your bills. In Saudi Arabia during the hajj, it’s where you pay for your animal sacrifice. It costs 460 riyals, or about $120, to have a sheep slaughtered. The sacrifice, known as the hadi, is incumbent on all pilgrims, who must donate at least two-thirds of the meat to the poor. Modern pilgrims usually have a slaughterhouse near Mecca do this for them, via the local post office. How do you know your animal was sacrificed? By text message, of course. New York Times, Postcards from the Hajj, Diaa Hadid, Sept 10, 2016 How it’s actually done at the Hajj: [In] sweaty slaughterhouse on the edge of Mecca: Men in stained robes hauled flailing sheep into the building. One man dragged his prey by its leg, and another carried one of the animals on his back. New York Times, Postcards from the Hajj, Diaa Hadid, Sept 10, 2016 Bernard Payeur
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