The purpose of this website is to explain what halal slaughter means and to show how animals are treated in halal-certified slaughterhouses around the world. Many people mistakenly believe that halal slaughter requires animals to be fully conscious, but this is not true. Halal rules do not forbid using stunning equipment to make animals insensitive to pain before slaughter. The main goal of halal is to ensure that people eat healthy and safe meat. Halal simply means “healthy” or “safe.”

Halal rules were created to protect people from eating unsafe meat from animals that died of unknown causes or had been dead for a long time, which was common in the time of the Prophet Mohammed.

In Surah Al-Maidah 3 of the Quran, it says that animals that die spontaneously of unknown reasons (called MEYTE) are forbidden to eat because their meat could be unhealthy. However, this does not apply to animals that die from known causes, like a blow or drowning. If these animals can still be bled out properly and in time, their meat can be considered halal. Some translations of the Quran add the phrase “provided that they are received alive,” but this is not in the original text. This interpretation has led many Muslims to mistakenly believe that stunning animals before slaughter is forbidden because it might kill them. As a result, many animals are slaughtered while fully conscious, causing them unnecessary pain.

Islamic communities follow guidelines from the Quran and hadiths, but interpretations can vary. Some religious leaders support stunning animals before slaughter to reduce suffering, while others believe animals should be conscious. Many who support conscious slaughter claim that animals feel little pain when their throats are cut.

However, there is a growing trend among religious authorities to recommend stunning before slaughter. Some leaders who once believed that conscious animals did not suffer have changed their views based on scientific evidence that animals do feel pain. Combining the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings on humane treatment with modern stunning technology has led to more acceptance of stunning.

Regardless of religious beliefs, treating animals well is important because they can feel emotions, pain, and fear. The Islamic teachings of the Prophet emphasize kindness and reject any form of cruelty towards animals.

This website aims to investigate practices in slaughterhouses that claim to follow halal rules, reveal any mistreatment, correct misinformation, and suggest ways to improve animal welfare. Sadly, many slaughterhouses still treat animals cruelly. We hope that religious leaders, consumers, and halal certification authorities will recognize and address these issues.

Additionally, this site aims to identify improvements needed in slaughterhouses beyond just the act of slaughtering. By providing examples of proper equipment and techniques, we hope to help slaughterhouse owners create more humane conditions for animals.


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