The debates in France, in the framework ot the coming Presidential election, brought to the fore the simmering problem of the ritual slaughter of farm animals. In particular the pain suffered by the animals and the lack of information supplied to the public who buy meat was vehemently discussed.
Brigitte Bardot, the now retired film actress, has for many years denounced the "daily slaughter of animals whose throats are cut while they are still conscious" because they have not been stunned beforehand !!!
A television report in April 2011 revealed that 30% of large cattle and 70% of smaller animals (sheep, fowls) were slaughtered without being stunned beforehand. This is in spite of a decree in 1964 which made the stunning of animals obligatory before slaughter in order to reduce their suffering.
However, an exception was made for animals slaughtered ritually, but purchasers of meat are never informed on how the animal was slaughtered !!! The election candidate President Sarkozy was questioned on this during a visit to the Paris Wholesale Market at Rungis and in reply asked "Is it worth making an issue of this ?"
This issue has been vigorously brought to the fore by Marine LE PEN who has refused to be fobbed off. Not in vain either, because the Butchers' Federation in Paris has now asked the French Government and the European Parliament to make it obligatory to label meat which has come from animals that have been ritually slaughtered !!!
P.S. If you want to see for yourself how animals suffer when they are ritually slaughtered, you should look at the video GAIA.be published by Georges-Pierre Tonnelier, WWW.WAT.TV.
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