§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list for each species the total number of animals religiously slaughtered in the United Kingdom for the last year for which figures are available. [137278]
§ Mr. BradshawInformation on the number of animals and birds slaughtered by religious methods in the United Kingdom is not collected routinely.
Information on religious slaughter in Great Britain is gathered as part of the Animal Welfare Review (carried out every two years by the Meat Hygiene Service on behalf of Defra), but the Review collects data only on a weekly basis. The latest published Animal Welfare Review contains information on Muslim (Halal) and Jewish (Kosher) slaughter gathered in 2001. The data given in the table were for the period 3 to 9 September 2001 for red meat animals, and for the period 14 to 20 May 2001 for poultry.
Species Halal, stunned prior to Slaughter Halal, not stunned prior to slaughter Kosher, stunned prior to slaughter Kosher, not stunned prior to slaughter Cattle (including calves) 1,116 0 0 833 Young lambs 54,469 4,028 0 2,277 Other sheep 23,589 7,880 0 0 Goats 120 21 0 0 Broilers 913,997 131,656 0 34,728 Hens 128,408 21,780 0 1,970 Turkeys 0 0 0 637 Ducks 0 36 0 476 Religious slaughter is rarely carried out in Northern Ireland. There have been only a few instances involving a small number of sheep, and all the animals were stunned prior to slaughter.
§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what tonnage of animals religiously slaughtered in Britain in the last year for which figures are available was exported overseas; and to which countries. [137279]
§ Mr. BradshawThis information is not available since there is no requirement for an exporter to supply details of the method of slaughter in order to obtain an export health certificate.