British Veterinary Association attacked for ‘obsession’ with banning shechita

A communal leader has criticised the British Veterinary Association for being “obsessed” with attacking religious slaughter.

Shimon Cohen, campaign director of Shechita UK, said the BVA’s focus on the issue was preventing the organisation from tackling more serious animal welfare concerns.

He said: “The BVA has been obsessed with removing the right of religious communities to carry out religious slaughter, without conclusive evidence that it is less humane than conventional, industrialised mechanical slaughter. That they continue to campaign on this issue, despite the government’s repeated assurances that it will not be swayed, is a dereliction of their responsibility to focus on far more severe welfare issues such as mis-stunning and animal cruelty.”

Mr Cohen was responding to new statistics on non-stun slaughter methods derived by the BVA from analysis of surveys by the Food Standards Agency.