Of course meat should be labelled - although this was not the point of the original post and neither has anyone argued against it.

BUT the consumer should also have the right to a truly informed decision about
(as Paul Burke argued in his post of 03 Oct 10 - 10:55 AM)

"Where it's from, how it was treated from birth to death, what it was fed on, what medication it has received, its genetic lineage, how its relationship with its parent and/ or offspring was respected, its shelter, freedom to roam, how far it had to travel from its familiar environment to its place of slaughter, what the travelling conditions were, its treatment around the time of slaughter, the hygienic conditions in the abattoir, the conditions under which the meat was kept and for how long"

Additionally an informed decision about the 'barbarity' of any method of slaughter should be based upon factual information and research - there seems to be little or no evidence that a lower voltage of stunning as used in the production of the vast majority of Halal meat is any less or more humane than that used in other abattoirs.

As an omnivore who also cares about animal welfare I do not eat meat imported from countries where the conditions in which animals are reared do not comply with higher standards in the UK even if it may be cheaper - I would opt for a vegetarian alternative if cost was the issue
For example sow stalls have been banned in the UK since 1999, but will not be banned across the EU until 2013.

There is still plenty of animal 'sadism' on this small island however and, as I posted, it is in the name of the barbaric 'religion' of cheap food and profit at the expense of animal welfare.

Get to understand and know your labels

Like many other people I have no doubt that the reason the EDL the BNP and some right wing papers are raising this story at the present time has nothing atall to do with animal welfare but is an abuse and simplification of those concerns to protest the introduction of different cultural migrants into the UK

I have weighed up my 'compassion' for the identity and religious beliefs of both Muslims and Jews against my compassion for animals

On all the evidence I have read, plus my own direct observations of abbatoirs, I am not suffciently convinced to condemn the use of lower voltages and a method which seems to have evolved with some welfare of the animal in mind - for example the animal can't be allowed to see another animal being slaughtered - as barbaric and 'bordering on evil'