Those who are ignorant about the proper Islamic method that is carried out in the slaughtering of animals do not hesitate in criticising Muslims and in regarding this Islamic method of slaughter as primitive, barbaric and a cruelty to animals.
The aim of presenting this article is to inform the public that the Islamic method of slaughtering an animal is most humane, painless and better than the current methods of mechanical and electrical stunning of animals that are normally done in abattoirs.
In order for large meat industries and commercial establishments to provide a much higher production, they all favour the method of mechanical and electrical stunning. They regard all other methods of slaughter as cruel and even manage to get the support of Animal Rights groups to oppose the Islamic method of slaughter.
In the Islamic method of slaughtering an animal, the animal is slaughtered by a sharp object which is capable of making it bleed by severing blood vessels. The slaughtering is to be done by cutting the throat of the animal or by piercing the hollow of the throat, causing its death. The best way is to cut the windpipe, the gullet, and the two jugular veins.
The wisdom of the Islamic rules of slaughtering is to take the animal's life in the quickest and least painful way; the requirements of using a sharp instrument and of cutting the
throat relate to this end. No additional stunner is necessary. This method also allows for the most rapid and efficient bleeding of the animal. When the sharp knife enters the tissues of the neck, its cuts open four big blood vessels in the region. So much blood is lost so quickly that the animal becomes unconscious and feels no pain.
When the animal convulses, one gets the impression that it is undergoing pain and suffering. However, this is not the case. In the Islamic manner of slaughtering, the spinal cord is not severed since the nervous connection between the brain and the body is maintained so that all the blood is squeezed out of the body. When convulsion takes place, the wringing actions of the muscles of the body on the blood vessels help to get rid of the maximum amount of blood from the meat tissue. In fact, the occurrence of convulsions confirm that the animal is unconscious. Thus, the animal also does not experience any pain.
In view of the above considerations, attempts to discredit the Islamic method of slaughter are ill-conceived. Based on scientific evidence, it should not be too difficult for individuals and groups to give up their attempts to interfere with religious beliefs and religious laws in general. The Islamic method of slaughter has stood the test of time and of scientific enquiry and remains by far the best, the most efficient and the safest.
