(Courthouse News) Halal beef from cows that are not stunned prior to slaughter can still be marketed with an “organic farming” label, an EU magistrate determined Thursday, siding against French animal-rights activists.
Though EU law calls for slaughterhouses to take necessary measures to avoid pain and minimize the distress and suffering of animals during the killing process, the European Council also allows exemptions for religious slaughter practices.
Against this backdrop, the group OABA, short for Oeuvre d’Assistance aux Betes d’Abattoirs, lobbied France’s minister for agriculture to exclude the “organic farming” label from beef and veal if the animals were not stunned before slaughter.
