Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of animals killed for (a) the halal market and (b) the kosher market were pre-stunned in each year since 2010.

The Department does not hold data on animals killed by different slaughter methods each year. In terms of the Kosher market, all animals are slaughtered without prior stunning.

Religious slaughter may only be carried out by Jews or Muslims for the food of Jews or Muslims. The Department does not hold data on what percentage of meat from non-stun religious slaughter is exported.

The data we hold on the Halal market is based on surveys carried out by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Previous FSA surveys were carried in 2011 and 2013 and 2015. An FSA survey was carried out earlier this year but we have not yet received the results. The data from the 2015 survey carried out during a 4 week period between 16 November and 13 December 2015, showed a total of 9,463,845 birds were stunned by parameters not listed in the EU Regulation. The 2015 survey only captured the number of birds stunned by parameters not listed in the EU Regulation, it did not capture data on all animals stunned prior slaughter for the Halal market. The 2013 survey was the last survey which recorded both non stun and stunned data for the Halal market. In that survey 75% of cattle, 63% of sheep and goats and 72% of poultry were stunned prior to slaughter for the Halal Market.