Facts about the source of some "halal" meat.

All Muslims will agree that it is simply not enough to slit the animal’s throat in the halal manner in order to consider the meat halal. As supported by the Qur’an and the Hadith, the care and welfare of the animals before they are killed are just as important as the way in which they are killed.

The Qur’an does not view animals as mere resources but as individuals and communities in their own right. Two prominent examples follow:

Significantly, the Qur’an uses the same Arabic word "wahy" when referring to God’s revelations to prophets and to animals, and many examples of kindness to animals are to be found in the Hadith. Muslim reports, "The Holy Prophet forbade the beating or the branding of animals …" The Prophet also forbade cutting off animals’ tails and other mutilations. But these abuses exist in the treatment of Indian cattle who are killed and sold as halal. One glaring example of this is the broken tail to be found on every cow and buffalo slaughtered in India. This painful procedure contradicts Muhammad’s humane teachings. Once, it is reported, Hazrat Omar saw a man deny water to a sheep who was destined for slaughter. Omar gave the man a beating with his lash and ordered him to water the sheep properly at the time of her death, a teaching in sharp contrast to the routine denial of food, water, and rest during the transport of cattle in India.

Cattle are forced to jump off trucks without ramps by such methods as beating and tail-breaking. Cattle too injured to move are often left at the foot of the vehicle while others are forced to land on top of them.

The delegation witnessed Indian cattle, who were barely more than skin stretched over bones, being subjected to severe cruelty throughout the entire transportation process. The animals’ suffering begins with, and is the most severe during loading and unloading onto the trucks used for much of their transport and also during the journey by road.

Proper loading requires a workable loading ramp. Sometimes this ramp is permanent, stable, and properly graded to enable relatively easy movement of cattle into the trucks. At other times, ramps are small, uneven, shifting mounds of dirt or cobbled-together pieces of wood subject to rot and breakage. These makeshift ramps very often cause the cattle to slip and fall, injuring themselves and jeopardizing the workers.

Infections and wounds caused by beatings and purposely inflicted injuries are routinely found on Indian cattle.

Unloading procedures are appalling. While some unloading is carried out on suitable permanent ramps, most frequently the delegation witnessed trucks backed up to the sides of hills. The steep, muddy incline of the hillside caused the cows to slip and fall while trying to negotiate their footing. Many of these falls resulted in broken legs, broken pelvises, and other injuries.

Cows have a wide field of vision (greater than 300 degrees) and will often balk or refuse to move in new situations. They may also be hesitant to move when they become frightened by shadows (much unloading is done at night with artificial light) or by a change in flooring surface or texture.

In most cases, no effort was made to provide a gradual decline for the unloading of the cattle. Instead, the cattle were forced to jump or were beaten and pushed from the high beds of the trucks onto the ground below. On some occasions, we witnessed downed cows and bullocks left at the foot of the truck while other cattle were forced to jump down and land on them, causing further injuries.

The Solution:

All loading and unloading must be done via properly built ramps or loading docks. Cattle must not be forced to jump or be pulled from truck beds.

Contrary to Indian law, which specifies a maximum of six cattle per truck, based on the size of the truck and size of the cattle, every single truck we saw was illegally and grossly overloaded.

The illegal overcrowding of trucks causes cattle to gore each other with their horns, trample one another and suffocate the fallen ones during journeys to the slaughterhouse.

Overcrowding is particularly cruel when temperatures soar, leading to crippling exhaustion and suffocation. Often cattle are injured or blinded when they are gored by the horns of other animals or when they lose their footing and slip in the speeding trucks. Our team followed one truck in southern India that was going over 80 kph on bumpy, winding roads. The cattle in the truck continuously lost their footing and fell. Many were kept upright only by the ropes through their noses pulled taut over the truck’s frame, keeping their heads up. The cattle also caught their long horns in the slats in the trucks, causing painful neck and disc injuries and also resulting in their horns’ being twisted and broken off. The cattle were also denied food and water during their transport, contrary to Indian law.

The Solution:

1. Indian law enforcement authorities must ensure that the number of cattle in each truck does not exceed six. Care should be taken to ensure that all cattle have sufficient space to avoid injuring their horns and necks, goring their companions and suffocating from heat and lack of air. Trucking companies found guilty of violations must face heavy fines and penalties.

2. Slaughterhouses should refuse to pay for or accept downed animals and should refuse to contract with carriers that transport cattle illegally and inhumanely. This will provide an incentive for shippers to properly transport their cattle.

3. Cattle must be provided with food and water at least every four hours.