UKIP leadership candidate Bill Etheridge has said that he would call for a ban on the kosher and halal slaughter of animals if he becomes the party’s next leader.
Mr Etheridge, a West Midlands MEP and councillor in Dudley, said the party should have a policy of banning the slaughter of animals which have not been stunned in advance of being killed.
This would effectively ban the production of kosher meat, eaten by Jews. Halal meat, eaten by Muslims, can also come from animals which were slaughtered without being stunned first.
The proposal, which has been considered by UKIP in the past, would be highly controversial.
Bodies including the British Veterinary Association, the RSPCA, Compassion in World Farming and the National Secular Society have all called for an end to slaughter without pre-stunning.
However, calls to ban the production of halal and kosher meat have also been associated with racist organisations such as the BNP.
Mr Etheridge said, “No animal should be made to suffer, and especially not in the name of religion.”
“I abhor all forms of animal cruelty and am highly concerns that some religious practices can cause unnecessary suffering to animals.
“As UKIP leader I would like to see the party move to a position where we are calling for legislation outlawing any slaughter practice that causes unnecessary suffering to animals.”
He added: “Now that we have voted to leave the EU, I would also like to see the UK government take another look at live animal exports as I believe this practise can also be cruel and traumatic to animals who have to travel hours in lorries for slaughter.
“A ban would have breached EU laws but since we voted to leave we need not worry about that - in fact we shouldn’t need to wait for Brexit on a matter of basic humanity.”
Halal and kosher meat is similar but not exactly the same. In both religions, animals must be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter and all blood is drained from the carcass.
Some Islamic scholars say that animals may be stunned first, as long as this does not kill it. However, others disagree and not every slaughterhouse producing halal meat stuns animals.
Jewish dietary law does not allow the animal to be stunned in advance, although religious authorities argue that the loss of blood when the animal’s neck is cut means it does in fact lose consciousness almost immediately.
Some observant Jews will eat meat killed in the usual way even if they observe religious dietary laws in other respects, for example by avoiding eating pork.
The MEP has published a series of policy proposals as part of his bid to become UKIP leader, following the announcement from former leader Nigel Farage that he plans to resign.
They include:
- Holding a referendum on bringing back the death penalty for the most serious crimes.
- Changing family law so that the default judgment when families break up is that both partners should be involved in parenting. In practice this would usually benefit fathers.
- A drastic reduction in the price of a pint as one way of reinvigorating the British pub.
- Considering bringing back smoking in pubs, in well-ventilated smoking booths.