Halal guidelines to include animal welfare  In an unprecedented move acknowledging the importance of animal welfare, WSPA has been invited by the International Halal Integrity Alliance (IHIA) to produce draft animal welfare guidelines. These will be presented at the World Halal Forum in Malaysia next month as part of a future Global Halal Standard. WSPA’s Middle East Program Director, Trevor Wheeler, joined Darhim Hashim, the CEO of IHIA, in a closed door meeting with the Honourable Grand Sheikh of the Al Azhar Institute, Dr Mohamed Sayed Al Tentawy, in Cairo on April 14. Other attendees at the meeting were Sofia Parente, WSPA Farm Animals Program Manager, and Ahmed Sherbiny, Chairman of the Egyptian Society for Animal Friends, a WSPA member society. Interest in animal welfare grows Last year, the Honourable Grand Sheikh produced a significant legal opinion (fatwa) on the importance of transport and slaughter of animals. This was followed by the Islamic Principles on Transport and Slaughter conference, organized by the Egyptian Society for Animal Friends and supported by WSPA in Cairo in October 2008. The outcome of this month’s closed door meeting formalizes cooperation between WSPA and IHIA, the endorsement of the fatwa and the recommendations of the conference, which provide a starting point for the animal welfare guidelines. The animal welfare guidelines include chapters on health, handling, living conditions and transportation, up to the point of slaughter. The World Halal Forum will be held in Kuala Lumpur on May 4-5 and is organized by the IHIA.
Learn more about WSPA's campaign to stop the cruelty of long distance animal transport before slaughter: Handle With Care>> |