𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Shoppers have a right to know if they are buying halal or kosher meat, according to a Conservative MP who is trying to change the law. Proposed legislation to ensure meat is clearly labelled was backed by MPs from Labour, Reform, Restore and the DUP when it was put forward by Tory former minister Esther McVey.

She said more than one in five animals processed in England and Wales are now slaughtered in line with Muslim or Jewish religious practices, meaning members of other religions, or no religion at all, are eating the products without knowing it. Kosher meat and some halal meat is produced without stunning the animal before slaughter, which critics say causes unnecessary suffering. The proposed law would not ban the practice, but would “introduce clear compulsory labelling so that consumers know exactly what they are purchasing”, the MP said.

Ms McVey said major supermarket chains and takeaway outlets were selling the products without making it clear to customers. She added: “Non-stunned meat is also served in schools by 17 local councils, the majority of which are not Islamic faith schools, meaning that parents and pupils may have had no idea what children were eating. It is also being served in UK hospitals, where patients do not know what they are eating.”

The MP said: “To produce halal and kosher meat, an animal’s throat is cut at the point of slaughter. In the case of halal meat, the animal is often stunned before it is killed, although it may not be.”

Presenting her proposed legislation to the House of Commons, she said: “The Government’s own figures show that, of the approximately one billion animals processed in England and Wales in 2024, an estimated 215million were slaughtered to produce halal meat. On those numbers, what was meant to be an exemption – an exception – is certainly not one.

“Government guidance is clear that meat resulting from non-stunned slaughter must be intended for consumption by Jews or Muslims, but production is clearly going way beyond that.

“Alarmingly, the United Kingdom now exports halal meat overseas. Between 2018 and 2019, there was an almost 700% increase in sheep meat exported to the United Arab Emirates.”

Ms McVey also criticised Labour for publishing an animal welfare strategy in late 2024 which made no reference to the slaughter of animals without prior stunning.

MPs backing her proposed new law included Labour MP Graham Stringer, Reform MPs Lee Anderson and Sarah Pochin, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson and Restore MP Rupert Lowe, as well as fellow Conservatives Dame Karen Bradley and Sir Edward Leigh.

Ministers say there are no regulations that require the labelling of religiously slaughtered meat. The Government respects religious freedoms and expects the food industry “to provide consumers with all the information they need to make informed choices”, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Ms McVey’s attempt to change the law is unlikely to succeed unless it receives government backing.