Dexter Cattle For Sale Discussion Board

I am feeling very sick typing this and literally shaking.

Have had a foreign sounding man just phone me at 11pm. He would buy the long legged 2 cows and calves we have advertised for sale, very honestly he told me the cows would be slaughtered when the calves were old enough. I do not have any problem with that in itself. I asked the man (due to his accent) if they would be Halal killed but said I hoped the question did not offend, he absolutely assured me they would be English killed and stunned first. We agreed a collection date and payment by Bank transfer.

I hung up the phone and something inside me just did not feel right (think it is called consience) I have Googled the name and information I was given and was HORRIFIED to see it is a Halal Meat Wholeseller.

I have phoned the man back to explain I am now NO WAY interested, and that he had lied.

Obviously this man has a business to run, he himself is very pleasant and professional. Absolutely nothing personal to him (should he read this, think he has bought up alot of Dexters countrywide)
BUT the very least I owe my cattle is a HUMANE SLAUGHTER, I feel so much happier having cancelled the sale. PLEASE BEWARE.

The majority of commercial Halal abattoirs do now stun, so perhaps he wasn't completely lying? Not that I've found a halal abattoir I'm happy to use this far North, but that's another story.

I did once try to buy some weaned stores and was asked if we were a 'meat company' because we called at 9pm - I never knew those were the tactics they actually use, though.

I read somewhere that 85% of Muslim Halal was stunned but that Kosher is still just cut the throat, I may be wrong. I think a lot of meat in supermarkets is now stunned-Halal, except for Morrisons whose fresh meat is supposed to be guaranteed non-Halal / Kosher. Morrisons do Halal but only frozen and/or prepared meals and it is labelled Halal they say.

I believe the difference between the Halal stunning and "normal" stunning is that the Halal version uses "a miniscule electric shock".

I haven't seen what the Humane Slaughter Society think of it?

This may be going to be a controversial answer.

When I was very young and wanted to farm, my father said I must experience all the most difficult angles of farming to see if I could hack it. One of these "tests" was to hold our lambs when they were killed, we still had them killed on farm back then.

They would have a cut made in the neck to let the blood flow. I expected it to be horrific but actually it wasn't so bad.

The lambs didn't usually even notice the cut in the neck and had no idea that they were bleeding out, they basically fainted, the heart continued to beat and I ended up with quite a large amount of blood in a bucket, very yucky.

However not really a bad death for the lambs and I would much prefer to be able to slaughter all my animals on farm that way, so I don't think Halal is a cruel way to kill, it is just the thought.

If this link works have a look. http://www.mustaqim.co.uk/halal.htm

Stephanie

Have you seen the Halal slaughter videos on YouTube Stephanie, unfortunately they are nothing like what you describe with cattle simply having their throats cut wide open, including the windpipe whilst having their heads held up. They then struggle and thrash around wildly for quite a long time, and are fully conscious, really disgusting.

And having their tendons cut to keep them waiting about until it's their turn to die!! And having their legs yanked out from underneath them while they are still alive so they fall to face the right way for Halal bleeding, etc. Maybe Halal in it's purest interpretation may be very caring and respectful if you are a chook, or duck, I don't know, but in the hands of people who are petrified of larger animals, have no training and even less empathy, it can be a very cruel practice.

OH Nasty, and no need either!

Stephanie

I'm with Saffy. Many years ago I had muslim mature students wanting a lamb for Halal slaughter. They came to the barn, knew what they were doing and it was a swift and efficient dispatch.
The big cultural difference was that the students couldn't get their heads round the fact that I, as a female, was the land and stock owner but were very affable in invitations to visit their homeland and meet their families and sheep.
I don't like big abattoirs for ordinary slaughter, never mind Halal.

Video of non-stunned Halal slaughter, I think in Belgium, not sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_bZzxep ... verified=1

Killing animals for yourself on the farm, is the best way by far, but factory halal is no way to do anything. it simply shouldnt be allowed in British abattoirs.
I see the Australians are trying to stop exports to indonisia which do this barbaric slautering of tying them up etc.

Stop it happening here dont sell to them.

Ps if you look at the temple Grandin stuff on the web its eye opening. Seemingly kosher is generally done to a good practice, but halal is pretty poorly done. she seems to support what Stephanie says but its they way they do it in a factory thats the problem.

Follow your conscience!

dominic

Forgot to add to that, i bet the dealer would no way wait until the calves where old enough, they would all be straight to slaughter. i find dealers must unpleasant and the bottom line is all they are interested in. calf dealers being the worst!

dominic

I remember talking to an abbatoir worker a couple of years ago, and asked his opinion on Halal killing. He said the abbatoir he worked at did practice it on some animals for a few months (due to customer demand - a large Muslim area) However the Abatoir owner was so disgusted by it and the cruelty, he soon stopped even though it meant loosing customers. The slaughterman said the lambs he saw killed were CERTAINLY in pain, bleating MINUTES later. He said a number of very hard men resigned from it.

I have seen goats/ lambs etc on TV killed with just their throat cut. This did look quick/instant and very calm, BUT they were not stressed anyway beforehand (in their own enviroment) Some of the Videos made on Halal are produced by Muslim people so clearly Biased.

I was so angry with the man last night for his lies. I guess he has to lie like this or many would not sell to him. I wonder how many Dexters have already suffered this fate?

I am certainly not anti Muslim (don't want my own throat cut!) but I would not send my Cattle off with that lack of regard. Yes Dom, thinking about it today I bet the Calves would have been "weaned" straight away. I did tell him I believe in Karma!!

I believe the same man probably contacted me, however the alarm bells where ringing and i just said that I didn't have anything for sale.

I'm probably to precious when i sell mine but i would rather slaught them my self at my local butchers than have them passed from pillar to post.

JMHO

I think the same man contacted me a few weeks ago regarding long legged Dexters. He kept asking how chunky they were and how much they weighed. Very pushy and also foreign sounding. After I had spoken to him I wasn't happy and cancelled his visit to pick up the cows. I would rather send them for beef myself then be unhappy with whom they were sold to.

Natasha

Does anyone have links to definitive data about which supermarkets do / don't use Halal slaughtered meat?
Thank you