Acceptability of Electrical Stunning and Post-Cut Stunning Among Muslim Communities: A Possible Dialogue

Current technical-scientific advances allow a reappraisal of some practices used during religious slaughter without compromising its deep and essential meaning, through to the identification of techniques that limit the nonhuman animal vigilance without causing any lesion that may impair its integrity. All this in respect of religious principles of the Jewish and Muslim community and in respect of animal welfare, minimizing as much as possible the risk of causing useless suffering to the animals. A demonstrative slaughter was performed in a slaughterhouse of the Modena province (Italy): ritual incision of the neck vessels was preceded by stunning to explore the feasibility that lessening animal suffering could conform to religious prescriptions, as it does in other countries. Two alternative methods to classical ritual slaughter without prior stunning were illustrated in order to limit animal suffering during killing and comply with Islamic ritual requirements.