Green Party co-leader halal call sparks row

THE Green Party have been accused of “Muslim bashing” after co-leader Jonathan Bartley said he supported banning halal slaughter.

Halal slaughter is an Islamic practice which involves using a sharp knife to cut the throat of an animal. Critics point out animals killed in accordance with Islamic tradition are not always stunned before being killed, although stunning is permitted and many are.

Birmingham candidate Khalid Mahmood (Lab), who is defending the seat of Perry Barr, said: “This is nothing to do with the green agenda. This is purely to do with scapegoating the Muslim community.” He pointed out that the comments appeared to refer specifically to Muslim dietary laws and there was no mention of Jewish practices which are very similar.

Mr Mahmood said: “The Jewish community actually goes through a similar process. Are they just going to ban it for Muslims? That is the question they have to answer.”

Mr Bartley was asked during a BBC radio interview whether he supported banning halal slaughter.

He said: “I think yes. When we are talking about care for animals and animal sentience, we are the strongest party on animal rights and I don’t think religious observance should ever trump our care for the planet, our care for sentient animals.”

Interviewer Nicky Campbell gave him an opportunity to make his position clear, asking: “You would ban Halal slaughter?” Mr Bartley: “Yeah, I would.”

The comments go beyond the official Green Party policy which says they will ensure meat and other animal products are labelled so that buyers know how the animal was slaughtered.

As Mr Mahmood says, Jewish dietary law calls for animals to be slaughtered in a similar way. However, Jewish rules are actually far stricter in banning the practice of stunning animals in advance.