Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Halal Slaughter
Halal Slaughter
Joe M. Regenstein
Professor of Food Science
Head: Cornell Kosher Food Initiative
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-7201
Jmr9@cornell.edu
Food Science
July 26, 2007
Who Am I?
An American Professor of Food Science
Have spent about 30 years working on religious
foods issues: Writing, Speaking, Doing
Member of the FMI/NCCR Animal Welfare
Technical Committee
Technical advisor to IFANCA
Colleague of Dr. Temple Grandin
Teach Kosher and Halal Food Regulations at:
Cornell, Kansas State (DL) and University of
Wisconsin-Madison (DL)
A Bumper Sticker
It is not our differences
that divide us. It is our
inability to recognize,
accept, and celebrate
those differences.
Audre Lorde
Ethics
We need to recognize that we can disagree about
ethics, I.e., we cannot always agree on what is right
and what is wrong, even if we are all ETHICAL
people.
We must remember that we each bring our own ideas
and background to ethics and to slaughter. We need
to think more broadly to incorporate new ideas and
educate ourselves.
Bumper Sticker
Scientific Reductionism
Allows one to isolate the various factors that are
involved in affecting a process
Can critically evaluate the scientific contribution of
each factor to the net outcome
Can then focus on correcting the most critical factors,
which would also would need to reflect policy
considerations
In my opinion this has been poorly done for religious
slaughter! (And also for regular slaughter). Which
effects reflect the slaughter, which reflect the
animal handling, and which reflect the equipment?
Proper Transportation of
Animals
Absence of injury
Appropriate provisions of feed and water
Proper consideration of the impact of ambient
temperature, humidity, wind conditions and intransit conditions faced by animals during
transport
Compatibility of the animals within a load
Goal: Presenting an acceptable animal to the
slaughter facility
Stunning
Not used for religious slaughter
Current suggested U.S. expectations
(FMI/NCCR and AMI) require 95% of the
animals to be stunned on the first try
Need to study the state of animals that are
missed on the first try both animals that are
calm and those that may not be so calm
because they were, for example, electrically
prodded
Un-stunned Slaughter
The slaughterman should be properly trained
The knife used should be of the proper size and
shape
The knife used should be properly sharpened
The slaughterman should cut the animal in the
proper place
The animals neck should be extended properly not
too taunt or too lose
The cut should be done aggressively so that the
animal bleeds profusely and drops quickly,
avoiding aneurisms
Post Slaughter
Any subsequent cut for further bleed-out shall be
done quickly and properly
The animal shall not otherwise be handled until
it is insensible
A Quote
Everyone is entitled to their own
opinion, but not their own facts."
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Former U.S. senator
Consequences
If all the steps are done properly, the animal
should be expected to be insensible: we might
want to suggest that is less than 20 seconds.
If the animal is NOT insensible by the suggested
20 seconds then a post-slaughter stun should
be used, even if this requires that the animal no
longer meets religious requirements.
Meat plants doing religious slaughter must be
prepared to sell meat that does not meet the
religious requirements into other markets.
Rules of Engagement
What is the issue?
Is the agenda really to do good science and trying to
improve the slaughter consistent with peoples
religious requirements?
My agenda: to get a fair and objective scientific
evaluation of both religious and non-religious
slaughter. For those items that are un-satisfactory,
we need to work with the plants to fix the problems.
A Reminder
With normal stunning procedures if the animal
is not stunned on the first try, it is extremely
stressful. Sometimes it takes as many as 6 tries
to eventually stun the animal. The new AMI
(American Meat Institute) expectation, as also
accepted by the FMI (Food Marketing
Institute, supermarkets)/NCCR (National
Council of Chain Restaurants) Animal Welfare
Technical Committee that I will discuss shortly
still permit 5% of the animals to be missed
on the first try!
Important Caveat
There are many currently operating religious slaughter
systems that do NOT meet the modern expectation
of animal welfare, but there are also some that we
believe do. Those that do not should not be
accepted if the measurements reported suggest that
these are out of control but the extrapolation to all
religious slaughter is inappropriate until good
measurements are made and reproduced on the best
available systems. A proper test of the null
hypothesis is needed, i.e., religious slaughter is as
humane as any other modern approved slaughter
system.
More research II
Detailed animal physiology, biochemical, and
behavioral measurements on a system where
during religious slaughter animals are
becoming insensible in 15 seconds or less.
More information about animals from stunning
(or missed-stunning) to bleed-out with
conventional systems.
In ALL cases the details of the system studied
need to be reported.
US Efforts
The FMI/NCCR (Food Marketing Institute/National
Council of Chain Restaurants) has undertaken to
create kosher and halal slaughter guidelines, based
on AMI (American Meat Institute) expectations. The
current AMI guidelines were recently changed to
permit a well done upside-down religious slaughter
to qualify as it is required by some groups in the
religious community.
Halal Slaughter
As part of Cornells Northeast Sheep and Goat
Program, we have tested a commercially
available Muslim slaughter knife and
subsequently developed a new knife, have
developed a restraining pen that should cost less
than $1000, and developed a multi-lingual
instruction poster that will permit individual
Muslims to do halal slaughter consistent with
modern animal welfare expectations. (Currently
available in English, Arabic, Persian, Urdu,
Somali, Malay, Turkish and Spanish.)
A Custom
Knife
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Joe M. Regenstein
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www.sheepgoatmarketing.org
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Translated by: Ali Motamedzadegan
Department of Food Science,
Mazandaran University, Iran.
www.sheep.cornell.edu
):(IFANCA
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www.ifanca.org
www.grandin.com
Cornell
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www.cfe.cornell.edu/wmi/composting.html
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Minimize stress when catching animals. Avoid sudden moves or noises. Herd animals into small area. Catch
gently. Move animal to slaughter quickly, without stress. If small enough, carry with one arm over the horns and
other arm tucked between hind legs [Step 2a]. For larger animals, have one person lead animal with chin held
high, while another person pushes from behind [Step 2b]. If handler is alone, hold animals chin with one hand
while grasping the dock or tailhead area with the other hand, or carry forelegs to lead the animal [Step 2c]. A
chute or lane can be used to move animals calmly [Step 2d]. For humane reasons, do not shackle the animal for
slaughter. Place the animal on a double rail [Step 3a] or firmly restrain the animal [Step 3b], which is safe and
comfortable for both animals and people. A well sharpened slaughter knife with a straight blade twice the neck
width is absolutely necessary for making the slaughter humane [Step 4a]. A knife with a hand guard is safest.* If
the handler is alone and the animal is docile, it can be slaughtered by straddling the animal next to a wall [Step
4b]. Slaughter gently but firmly by holding animals head back, and in a quick, single cut move across animals
throat just below the jawbone, cutting the windpipe, esophagus, arteries and veins forward of the neckbone. It is
both a halal law and a requirement for animal welfare to wait until the animal is insensible (at least 1 minute)
before starting further processing [Steps 6a and 6b]. Dispose of the offal (animal remains) by composting or other
sanitary and legal means. To use the static-pile composting method [inset], alternate layers of offal with highcarbon materials, such as wood chips, straw, leaves, peat or finished compost. This method also protects against
odor and vermin. For more information, see www.cfe.cornell.edu/wmi/composting.html.
This poster was produced by the Northeast Sheep and Goat Marketing Program and was funded by USDA. Joe
M. Regenstein, Project Coordinator, Professor of Food Science / Head of the Cornell Kosher Food Initiative,
Technical Advisor for IFANCA; Photos and editing: tatiana Stanton and Chris Parsons; Design and layout: Amy
Christian and Duncan Hilchey, For copies of this poster in English or Spanish, contact: Mike Thonney,
Department of Animal Science, 114 Morrison Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-4801, 607.255.2851,
mlt2@cornell.edu; For copies of this poster in Arabic and Persian, contact: IFANCA, 5901 North Cicero, Suite
309, Chicago, IL 60646, 773.282.3708; www.ifanca.org. For more information about humane halal slaughter of
more than one or two animals at a time, please consult the following Web sites: Cornell Sheep Program:
www.sheep.cornell.edu); Empire State Meat Goat Producers Association
(www.ansci.cornell.edu/extension/esmgpa.html); Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA)
(www.ifanca.org); Northeast Sheep and Goat Marketing Program (www.sheepgoatmarketing.org); Temple
Grandin (www.grandin.com).
Turkish
**Koyun ve keilerin insancl (Helal) iftlik kesimi
**Aama 1
Hayvanlar yakalarken stresi en aza indirin. Ani hareket ve seslerden kann. Hayvanlar kk bir
alana srn. Nazike yakalayn.
**Aama 2
Hayvan stressiz bir ekilde, hemen kesime aln. Eer yeterince kkse, bir kolla boynuzlardan, dier
kolla arka bacaklarnn arasndan tutarak tayn (Aama 2a). Byk hayvanlar iin, bir kii hayvann
enesini yukar tutarak ynlendirmeli, dier bir kii de hayvann arkasndan itmeli (Aama 2b). Eer
yanlzsanz, bir elle hayvann arkasn ya da kuyruunu tutarken dier elle hayvann enesini tutun ya
da hayvan ynlendirmek iin n ayaklar tayn (Aama 2c). Hayvan sakince gtrmek iin dar bir
geit veya yol kullanlabilir (Aama 2d).
**Aama 3
nsancl nedenlerden dolay, hayvan kesim iin zincirlemeyin. Hayvan parmaklklarla evrili bir alana
koyun (Aama 3a) ya da hem hayvan hem de insanlar iin gvenli ve rahat olmas asndan hayvan
skca tutun (Aama 3b).
**Aama 4
nsancl bir kesim iin kesinlikle iyi bilenmi ve hayvann boyundan iki kez daha byk dzgn bir
bak gereklidir (Aama 4a). El koruyucusu olan bir bak en gvenlisidir.* Eer yanlzsanz ve hayvan
uysalsa, hayvan bacaklar arasna alnarak ve bir duvara dayatlarak kesilebilir (Aama 4b).
*Kesim baklar iin bir kaynak: www.dexter-russell.com
**Aama 5
Hayvann kafasn geriye doru incitmeden fakat skca tutarak kesin. Hayvann boaz boyunca, ene
kemiinin hemen altndan hzl ve tek bir kesikle, soluk borusunu, yemek borusunu, atardamarlar ve
dier damarlar kesin.
**Aama 6
Sonraki ilemlere balamak iin hayvan bilinsiz hale gelinceye dek (en az 1 dakika) beklemek hem
islmi bir kural hem de hayvann rahat iin bir zorunluluktur (Aama 6a ve 6b).
**Aama 7
Sakatatlar (hayvandan geriye kalanlar) organik madde dnm ya da sanitasyon yntemleri ile veya
dier yasal yntemlerle uzaklatrn. Sakatatlar sabit bir yerde rmeye brakmak iin, sakatatlar
yksek miktarda karbon ieren aa yongas, saman, yaprak ya da rm organik kalntlarla
kartrn. Bu yntem ayn zamanda koku, zararl bcek ve hayvanlardan korur. Daha fazla bilgi iin,
www.cfe.cornell.edu/wmi/composting.html sayfasna bakn.
Arabic
Spanish
Matanza Humanitaria (Halal) de Ovejas y Cabras en la Granja
Paso 1
Minimize el estrs. Atrape al animal tranquilamente en un rincn pequeo. Evite
movimientos y ruidos sbitos.
Paso 2
Traslade al animal rpidamente, sin estresarlo. Si es lo suficientemente pequeo,
llvelo con un brazo por encima de los cuernos y el otro entre las piernas traseras
(Paso 2a). Para animales ms grandes, una persona levanta la quijada del animal
mientras la otra lo empuja desde atrs (Paso 2b). Si usted est solo, agarre el
animal por la quijada con una mano y la cola con la otra, o crguelo por las patas
delanteras (Paso 2c). Tambin se puede utilizar un pasadizo (Paso 2d).
Paso 3
Por razones humanitarias no cuelgue al animal por las piernas traseras antes de
matarlo. Coloque al animal en un doble carril cerrado (Paso 3a) o retngalo de
manera cmodo y sin peligro (Paso 3b).
Paso 4
Si usted est solo y el animal es dcil, se puede matarlo ponindolo entre las
piernas contra la pared. (Paso 4b). Para una matanza humanitaria es indispensable
usar un cuchillo de filo recto, bien afilado, y con un grosor de doble el ancho del
cuello del animal (Paso 4a). Lo ms seguro es usar un cuchillo que tenga
guardamano incorporado*.
* Se encuentra este tipo de cuchillo en: www.dexter-russel.com.
Paso 5
Para matar al animal, mantenga la cabeza hacia atrs, haga un corte rpido y firme
justo debajo de la mandbula, cortando la laringe, el esfago, las arterias y las
venas.
Paso 6
Es requesito de las leyes Halal y del bienestar animal que se espere a que el animal
se vuelva insensible (por lo menos 1 minuto) antes de comenzar a procesarse
(Pasos 6a y 6b).
Paso 7
Disponga de los desperdicios por composta o por los medios legales de sanidad.
Para usar el mtodo de composta esttico (static-pile composting), alterne las capas
de despojos con materiales de alto contenido de carbon, tales como hojas, pasto,
paja, o azerrn. Este mtodo previene la formacin de malos olores y pestes. Para
ms informacin consulte con www.cfe.cornell.edu/wmi/composting.html.
Malay
Penyembelihan biri-biri dan kambing secara berperikemanusiaan (Halal) di kawasan ternakan
Langkah 1
Ketika menangkap haiwan ternakan, kurangkan tekanan terhadap haiwan tersebut. Pastikan tiada sebarang pergerakan secara
mengejut (memeranjatkan) atau bunyi yang bising. Arahkan kumpulan haiwan ini ke suatu kawasan yang sempit. Tangkap secara
lembut (tidak kasar).
Langkah 2
Pindahkan haiwan secepat mungkin ke tempat penyembelihan tanpa paksaan. Sekiranya haiwan ini kecil, dukung dengan satu
lengan di atas tanduk dan satu lengan lagi di antara kedua-dua kaki belakang (langkah 2a). Bagi haiwan yang lebih besar, dua
orang diperlukan. Seorang pengendali bertugas mendongakkan dagu haiwan dan menentukan halatuju, manakala seorang lagi
menolak haiwan dari belakang (langkah 2b). Jika hanya ada seorang pengendali, pegang dagu haiwan dengan satu tangan
sementara satu tangan lagi memegang punca ekor, atau angkat kedua-dua kaki hadapan haiwan bagi menentukan arah haluan
(langkah 2c). Penggunaan laluan bercerun (menurun) atau laluan yang agak sempit boleh membantu menggerakkan haiwanhaiwan ini secara tenang (langkah 2d).
Langkah 3
Bagi tujuan keperimanusiaan, jangan hadkan pergerakan atau kebebasan haiwan yang hendak disembelih. Tempatkan haiwan di
atas dua landasan (langkah 3a) atau ikat haiwan dengan kemas (langkah 3b) demi menjaga keselamatan haiwan dan pengendali
haiwan tersebut.
Langkah 4
Pisau yang digunakan untuk sembelihan secara berperikemanusiaan perlu diasah tajam dan panjang (bahagian pisau yang lurus)
berukuran dua kali ganda lebar leher haiwan yang disembelih (langkah 4a). Jenis pisau yang mempunyai pengawal tangan adalah
yang paling selamat digunakan. *Jika menyembelih secara bersendirian dan didapati haiwan itu jinak atau mudah dikawal,
penyembelihan boleh dilakukan dengan bahagian belakang haiwan rapat ke dinding ketika ia berdiri di atas landasan berkembar.
Pastikan kedua-dua kaki sebelah kiri haiwan berada di atas satu landasan manakala kaki sebelah kanan berada di atas landasan
yang bersebelahan dengannya (langkah 4b). *Satu sumber rujukan berkaitan jenis-jenis pisau untuk sembelihan ialah www.dexterrussell.com
Langkah 5
Sembelih dengan lembut, tetapi kemas dan kuat dengan memegang kepala haiwan ke belakang, cepat, dan dengan hanya satu
potongan melintasi leher haiwan di bahagian bawah tulang rahang; memotong saluran udara (kerongkong), esophagus, arteri dan
vena yang terletak di depan tulang leher.
Langkah 6
Hukum halal dan juga peraturan kebajikan haiwan menuntut agar kakitangan yang mengendalikan proses penyembelihan
menunggu sehingga haiwan itu tidak lagi bernyawa (sekurang-kurangnya 1 minit) sebelum memulakan proses seterusnya (langkah
6a dan 6b).
Langkah 7
Buang segala saki-baki haiwan yang tidak diingini dengan menanamnya jauh ke dalam tanah atau dengan cara lain yang
diperuntukkan oleh undang-undang dan amalan sanitasi. Bagi menggunakan kaedah mengkompos secara longgokan-statik
(gambar), lapisan saki-baki haiwan diletak berselang-seli dengan bahan yang kaya dengan kandungan unsur karbon, seperti habuk
kayu, jerami, daun-daun, lumut dan tumbuhan yang telah mati atau bahan kompos. Kaedah ini boleh menghindarkan bau busuk
dan juga menghalang kehadiran haiwan perosak yang kotor dan boleh mendatangkan penyakit. Untuk maklumat lanjut, sila lawati
laman web www.cfe.cornell.edu/wmi/composting.html.
Conclusion
It is my personal belief that in the future the
most humane slaughter may well be religious
slaughter. All research on the issue of
religious slaughter (as opposed to evaluating a
particular situation) needs to be done on a
system that is operating properly and provides
the best possible condition for slaughter only
then can the potential of religious slaughter be
properly evaluated. Hopefully then we can
have a open-minded scientifically-based
discussion.
References
These references attempt to present an overview of the
science of un-stunned slaughter from a pro-religious
slaughter point of view
Levinger, Levinger and Monk: Shechitah
Levinger
Rosen: Article in the Vet Record
A book discussing of some of the issues of halal
slaughter although not focused on the technical
issues being discussed in this presentation
The Islamic Method of Slaughter
Questions
For further information, please contact Joe M. Regenstein at
jmr9@cornell.edu: Copies of this PowerPoint talk, the Spirit
of Humane brochure, and the Humane (Halal) poster are
available from him with no charge.
Also there is a comprehensive paper on kosher and halal at
www.ift.org; go to publications; go to on-line journals; go to
Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety;
volume 2 issue 3.
For either a kosher/halal talk or an animal welfare talk, go to
www.cybertower.cornell.edu and log in.
For a 2 credit distance learning course on kosher and halal
food regulations go to the Kansas State University
(www.ksu.edu) distance learning program in food science.