Petition · past parliament
Ban the Slaughter of animals without pre-stunning (for religious purposes)
Rejected
17 signatures
What the petition asks
Over 900 million animals are slaughtered yearly in the UK and most are stunned beforehand. However, the law permits some communities to slaughter animals according to their religious beliefs, usually without stunning them. Religious practices shall not justify cruelty to animals on any grounds.
The British Veterinary Association, Humane Slaughter Association and RSPCA all reached the same conclusion:
Research shows that a large cut across the neck of a conscious animal would “result in very significant pain and distress” before the animal loses consciousness (5 to 7 seconds for sheep, 22 to 40 seconds for adult cattle)
Slaughter without pre-stunning is unacceptable, the Government should repeal the exemption
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/farm/slaughter/religiousslaughter
Research shows that a large cut across the neck of a conscious animal would “result in very significant pain and distress” before the animal loses consciousness (5 to 7 seconds for sheep, 22 to 40 seconds for adult cattle)
Slaughter without pre-stunning is unacceptable, the Government should repeal the exemption
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/farm/slaughter/religiousslaughter
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 15 Dec 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 19 Dec 2016 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
17
Status
Rejected
Rejected
19 Dec 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.