Pointless cruelty.
Yeah, the live export thing. I did watch the Four Corners program about it today, and yes, the practices cause a lot of undue pain and distress to the cattle. Being from a particularly pragmatic strain of farmers, I can see animals being slaughtered and watch their death throes with some level of detachment, but I also hold very certainly that humane practices are good practices. They not only minimise the distress caused to the animals, they are safer for handlers and preserve the quality of the end product. And really, if you are going to slaughter a cow or steer, you want it to be worthwhile. You don't want to do it just to end up with tough, nasty beef.
One thing that bothered me was that there is resistance to stunning the cattle because people believe that doing so makes the meat not Halal. Which is a pretty weird interpretation of the rule as I understand it; the animal must be facing Mecca and have its throat cut with one clean stroke. And yet, the process is so awful that many cuts are required to cause the bruised, distressed, struggling animals to eventually bleed out. And that's not in adherence to the spirit or the letter of the laws pertaining to Halal slaughter. So it's not only cruel, it's pointless.
Ergh.
This entry crossposted from http://tangent-woman.dreamwidth.org/550709.html with
comments. Please comment there if you feel inclined. You too can have a Dreamwidth blog. Ask me how!
One thing that bothered me was that there is resistance to stunning the cattle because people believe that doing so makes the meat not Halal. Which is a pretty weird interpretation of the rule as I understand it; the animal must be facing Mecca and have its throat cut with one clean stroke. And yet, the process is so awful that many cuts are required to cause the bruised, distressed, struggling animals to eventually bleed out. And that's not in adherence to the spirit or the letter of the laws pertaining to Halal slaughter. So it's not only cruel, it's pointless.
Ergh.
This entry crossposted from http://tangent-woman.dreamwidth.org/550709.html with
comments. Please comment there if you feel inclined. You too can have a Dreamwidth blog. Ask me how!