När religion och djurskydd kolliderar : slakt utan bedövning

Abstract: The fact that animals have feelings is something that is commonly agreed. Many authors showhow animals' views of their environment is quite similar with human views. Animals, whichare slaughtered without prior stunning, find the moment of slaughter unpleasant and stressing.This is shown in numerous of scientific studies. The cognitive ability of animals can becompared to how they experience feelings and scientists have shown how the structures in thebrain that involves feelings and cognitive behaviours in animals are very much the same asthe structures in human brains. Because of this, some scientists consider that behaviour inanimals can be directly interpreted into human feelings.Halal- and kosher slaughter comes from traditions. These traditions come from interpretationsof religious texts. The texts were written in a time when there was little knowledge of animalwelfare and food hygiene. What the texts are saying is that animals should be treated withrespect and that they should not suffer. Some animals are, according to the texts, not clean andshould therefore not be consumed. This also applies for some parts of the animals' body. If ananimal somehow is injured, the meat can not be eaten according to the religious texts. Thiscauses trouble, when in modern times; animals are stunned prior to slaughter. For somereligious groups, stunning is concerned to be an injury and the meat can therefore not beconsumed.In Sweden it is not allowed to slaughter animals without prior stunning. The European lawssay the same, but there is a possibility to slaughter animals without prior stunning forreligious purposes.According to sources in the EU more and more animals are slaughtered without priorstunning. This is because it is easier to have one way to produce instead of two. The meat thatis not sold to the religious groups is in some cases sold as "regular" meat. I have not been ableto get answers to the questions if the Swedish food chains sell meat of this kind or not. But Ihave hopefully awoken an interest in the question and I am hoping, thorough this, that theymake considerable research in where the meat comes from and how the animals are treated atslaughter.