In this blog, numbers in parentheses refer to the sources listed at the bottom.
Introduction: eating meat means slaughtering an animal
To eat meat, an animal must be slaughtered. That is a biological reality that still applies today—meat is not grown in a laboratory, at least not on a large scale yet. The question, then, is not so much whether an animal is slaughtered, but how. The guiding principle must always be: as quickly, efficiently, cleanly, and painlessly as possible. This applies to every slaughter method, religious or otherwise.
Nevertheless, halal slaughter regularly features in public debate, often amid misunderstandings about what it actually entails, whether it violates animal welfare, and whether or not it conflicts with Flemish legislation. In this blog, we examine this specifically for cattle in Flanders.
What is halal slaughter?
Halal slaughter is the Islamic method of slaughter. The word "halal" simply means "permitted" in Arabic—the opposite is "haram" (forbidden). Meat is only halal if the animal was slaughtered according to specific religious regulations.
What does the Quran say?
The basis of halal slaughter comes from three references in the Quran:
Surah 5, verse 3, lists which foods are forbidden: an animal that was already dead before slaughter, blood, and an animal that was strangled or has fallen. The animal must be alive at the time of slaughter, and the blood must flow completely out of the body. Draining the blood has both a religious and a practical basis: blood provides a breeding ground for microorganisms, and removing it contributes to the shelf life of meat.
Surah 6, verse 121, states that one may not eat animals over which the name of Allah (God in Arabic) has not been pronounced. This confirms that the animal is not killed pointlessly, but deliberately and in the name of God.
Surah 6, verses 118–119, once again confirms that one may eat animals over which the name of Allah has been pronounced, and that one may rely on divine guidance regarding what is permitted.
What does the Hadith say?
The Hadith are accounts of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, recorded in the major collections. While the Quran provides the principles, the Hadith provides their practical application. The following rules for halal slaughter are derived from them:
- The slaughterer must be Muslim, Jewish, or Christian (a person of the Book)
- The knife must be razor-sharp; a blunt knife prolongs suffering
- The throat cut must be made in one smooth motion, not by sawing
- The knife must not be sharpened within the animal’s sight, as this causes fear
- Other animals must not watch during slaughter
- The animal must be calm and stress-free before slaughter
- The slaughter area must be clean and hygienic.
- The animal must bleed out completely before further procedures are carried out—this has a practical reason in addition to a religious one: residual blood in the meat promotes bacterial growth and shortens shelf life
Conventional slaughter versus halal slaughter: what is the difference?
In conventional, non-religious cattle slaughter, the animal is first stunned—either with a captive-bolt device in which a steel bolt is shot forcefully into the skull, or by means of an electric shock.
In traditional halal slaughter without stunning, the animal’s throat is cut while it is conscious. This is the point over which debate exists—both scientifically and religiously.
What does science say about pain during slaughter?
A frequently cited study is the research by Professor Wilhelm Schulze of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, conducted between 1974 and 1978 (1)Using surgically implanted electrodes, EEG (brain activity) and ECG (heart activity) were measured in sheep and calves. With the Islamic throat cut, the EEG showed no change during the first three seconds. With the captive-bolt method, the animals appeared to be stunned, but more brain activity was measured than expected.
The study remains controversial: it dates from the 1970s, its methodology was criticized, and Schulze himself pointed out that the captive-bolt device may not have functioned correctly in his experiments. For sheep, later EEG studies exist that confirm similar findings regarding relatively rapid loss of consciousness after a correct throat cut (2)For adult cattle, comparable confirmatory studies are lacking.
The American animal scientist Temple Grandin, internationally recognized as an expert in slaughterhouse design and animal behavior, also states that slaughterhouses that correctly implement the recommended halal practices cause the animal little pain. She emphasizes that animal suffering in slaughterhouses is more often related to poor execution than to the method itself—but generally prefers effective stunning beforehand (4).
Stunning in conventional slaughter: not without problems either
Stunning is often presented as the ultimate answer, but it also has problems. Research shows that stunning methods fail to effectively stun an animal in a significant number of cases; the reported percentages vary widely depending on the animal species and method used (5)With poultry that passes through an electrical water bath, stunning is insufficient for some of the animals, and they undergo throat cutting while conscious (6).
Some animals are already dead before the throat cut because of failed stunning, meaning that, strictly speaking, the meat is no longer halal, but also no longer compliant with the general slaughter regulations. Animals that are stunned and slaughtered in groups see and hear their fellow animals suffering, causing severe stress. Moreover, the quality of stunning is difficult to monitor in practice: in an industrial slaughterhouse, hundreds of animals pass through the line per hour, making thorough individual checks virtually impossible.
Flemish legislation: decree of 7 July 2017
In Flanders, slaughter without prior stunning has been prohibited since 1 January 2019, based on the Flemish decree of 7 July 2017 amending the law on the protection of animal welfare (7). It provides for a specific arrangement: the stunning must be reversible, and the animal's death must not result from the stunning. This means the animal remains technically alive at the time of the throat cut, meeting the Islamic requirement.
For many halal certification bodies, reversible stunning before the throat cut is therefore permitted, although acceptability depends on the method used and the animal species. The penetrating captive-bolt device, which permanently damages the brain, is rejected by most bodies because the animal cannot recover from it. Its application is carefully assessed for each slaughterhouse and each case; the animal must not suffer unnecessarily, and the stunning must be carried out perfectly. The latter is not guaranteed in practice: even when stunning is performed before the throat cut, it fails in some cases, meaning the animal still undergoes the throat cut while conscious.
Stunning after the throat cut, cattle: the legal exception
Cattle are subject to a specific transitional measure: stunning after the throat cut. The reason is technical: when the decree was enacted, no broadly applicable and sufficiently reliable method for reversible stunning of adult cattle was available (7). Therefore, a temporary solution was provided:
- The cattle are slaughtered without prior stunning
- Immediately afterward, during or no more than 2 seconds after the throat cut, the animal is stunned with a captive-bolt device
- The animal is then unconscious and bleeds out
This method is legally established as a transitional measure, pending the reliable application of reversible electrical stunning to large cattle as well.
Flanders is no exception in this regard: within Europe, stunning after the throat cut is also legally required in Austria, Estonia, Latvia, and Greece (8).
In most other European countries—including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland—unstunned ritual slaughter is still fully permitted.
Are we violating the law?
No. Halal slaughter of cattle in Flanders, carried out with stunning after the throat cut in an approved slaughterhouse, fully complies with Flemish legislation. The 2017 decree explicitly provides for this as a lawful method for cattle, as long as electronarcosis for this species has not yet been perfected.
Double oversight: FASFC and halal certification
Slaughterhouses that carry out halal slaughter in Flanders are subject to two levels of oversight.
The FASFC—the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain—inspects all slaughterhouses for hygiene, animal welfare, and compliance with legislation. This is the standard statutory inspection for every slaughterhouse in Belgium.
In addition to FASFC inspections, recognized halal certifiers conduct their own audits. They check whether slaughter complies with Islamic requirements: the presence of a Muslim slaughterer who knows the rules, the quality of the cut, the treatment of the animals before and during slaughter, and the cleanliness of the surroundings. Consequently, alongside statutory inspections, halal slaughterhouses are also checked by independent certifiers for compliance with religious requirements—an additional layer that does not exist in conventional slaughter.
Stunning before the throat cut: accepted by Islamic scholars?
A separate question is whether stunning before the throat cut can be halal. Islamic scholars and certification bodies are not unanimous on this, but a growing majority accepts it, provided that the stunning is reversible. (9)Various authoritative bodies and countries led the way:
- Egyptian Fatwa Committee (1978)
- Al-Azhar, one of the world's highest Islamic institutions (1982)
- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
- European Council for Fatwa and Research
- Malaysia, Indonesia and the Emirates
In Turkey and Morocco, an increasing number of more modern slaughterhouses are in practice switching to stunning before the throat cut. Worldwide, it is currently estimated that 75% of halal beef is produced using stunning before the throat cut.(9).
However, this does not mean that just any method is acceptable. The stunning must be correct, controlled, demonstrably reversible, validated on a case-by-case basis, and carried out under strict supervision. The penetrating captive-bolt device, which permanently damages the brain, is not accepted. It is precisely this combination of religious oversight on top of legal oversight that distinguishes halal slaughter from standard slaughtering practices.
Final verdict
Halal slaughter of cattle in Flanders using stunning after the throat cut is legally permitted and subject to a double layer of oversight. Scientific evidence shows that a skilled, rapid throat cut with a sharp knife leads to rapid loss of consciousness in sheep, although comparable, conclusive studies on adult cattle are lacking. Common stunning methods are likewise not without risks. Proponents argue that Islamic slaughter requirements are intended to minimize animal suffering as much as possible.
Sources
(1) Schulze, W., Schultze-Petzold, H., Hazem, A.S., & Gross, R. (1978). Attempts to Objectify Pain and Consciousness in Conventional and Ritual Methods of Slaughtering Sheep and Calves. Deutsche Tierärztliche Wochenschrift, 85(2), 62–66.
(2) Gregory, N.G., & Wotton, S.B. (1984). Sheep slaughtering procedures: II. Time to loss of brain responsiveness after exsanguination or cardiac arrest. British Veterinary Journal, 140(4), 354–360.
(4) Grandin, T. (2012). Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide: A Systematic Approach to Animal Welfare. American Meat Institute Foundation.
(5) Atkinson, S., Velarde, A., & Algers, B. (2013). Assessment of stun quality at commercial slaughter in cattle shot with captive bolt. Animal Welfare, 22(4), 473–481.
(6) European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). (2004). Welfare aspects of the main systems of stunning and killing the main commercial species of animals. EFSA Journal, 45, 1–29.
(7) Flemish Parliament. (2017). Decree amending the law of 14 August 1986 concerning the protection and welfare of animals, with regard to the permitted methods for slaughtering animals. Belgian Official Gazette, 7 July 2017.
(8) European Parliament. (2017). Parliamentary question P-002607/2017: Slaughter without stunning. Retrieved via europarl.europa.eu.
(9) Riaz, M.N., Irshad, F., Riaz, N.M., & Regenstein, J.M. (2021). Pros and cons of different stunning methods from a Halal perspective: a review. Translational Animal Science, 5(4), txab154. https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txab154