Halal slaughter follows Islamic law, requiring ritualized slaughter by slitting the throat of blessed animals and draining all blood. The environment must be halal, and the cut must be done by a Muslim, Jew, or Christian. Seafood is exempt, and the process has been criticized for perceived cruelty to animals.
Halal slaughter takes place according to Islamic law. This expression of Islamic law regarding animals is called Dhabihah or Zabiha in Arabic. These rules require ritualized slaughter by slitting the throat of animals that have been blessed before Allah. The ritual also calls for the animals to be bled completely dry. Only when this is done can a meat be certified halal.
There are certain prerequisites that must be met before halal slaughter can take place. Firstly, the environment must be correct and must not be contaminated with haram or non-halal products, such as those related to pigs or haram meat. This is why exclusively halal slaughterhouses are usually used for the process. All equipment used to slaughter animals must also be halal.
First of all, the animal destined for slaughter must be blessed. In its most basic form, this means saying the word for God in Arabic, “Allah,” before the animal is slaughtered. This is because the Islamic sacred text, the Koran, states that man should not “eat anything on which the name of Allah has not been pronounced.”
Halal slaughter itself is performed through cuts to the jugular veins and also the carotid arteries of the animal in question. This is done for both cows and sheep, but also for chickens. Any land animals, including birds, that can be eaten under Islamic law must be slaughtered in this way. This cut must be administered with a sharp knife and must be done by a son of Adam; meaning someone of the Muslim, Jewish or Christian faith. The blade that makes the cut must be hidden until the last moment so that the animal is not in trouble.
The blood must be completely drained because Islamic law states that meat from halal slaughter must be free of blood or blood products. Because of this, the animal can die at its own pace before being hanged so that the blood can drain. This process takes longer than non-halal slaughter methods and can also take up more space.
Dhabihah does not apply to seafood, fish, camels and locusts. It doesn’t even include pigs. This applies to fish and other seafood because no laws have been established on how to kill them. The Quran simply states that all seafood is halal for Muslims, although some disagree. This means that seafood can be killed in any way.
Halal slaughter has caused controversy outside Islamic communities due to perceived cruelty to animals. This is because the animal is often conscious when being slaughtered and the process itself takes longer and causes more pain to the animal than other methods. While many Muslims believe that stunning an animal is haram, it is a process that is increasingly being used to appease animal rights activists.
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