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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of (a) food safety and (b) animal welfare standards in (i) halal and (ii) kosher slaughterhouses.

No specific food safety or animal welfare assessments have been made of slaughterhouses using halal or kosher slaughter methods.

Animal welfare at time of killing legislation sets out the main requirements to protect the welfare of animals when being slaughtered. There are additional rules that apply when animals are slaughtered by either the Jewish or Muslim method to ensure that animals are spared avoidable pain, suffering, or distress during the slaughter process. Similarly, food hygiene legislation sets out the hygiene requirements for approved slaughterhouses regardless of the method used.