Demand for Halal-cut meat much higher, say vendors

After the Hijab row and the call to boycott Muslim vendors around Hindu temples, right-wing groups have now targeted Halal-cut meat.

They have asked people to increasingly buy Jhatka-cut meat.

The movement that started on a low key in some parts of the state has now snowballed into a major political controversy and has cast a shadow on the state’s meat industry which was looking forward to a bumper sale during the Ugadi festival.

Even as politicians and activists feistily debated Halal vs Jhatka, vendors across Bengaluru said demand for Halal-cut meat is significantly higher.

Veterinarians and food safety experts, for their part, dismissed religion has anything to do with the way animals are slaughtered and asked to follow the rules in the Food Safety Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Halal means...

“Halal is basically an Arabic word that literally translates as permissible for consumption,” said a senior veterinary professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru.

“In Halal cut (meat), an incision is made on the animal’s throat, slashing the jugular vein that caries deoxygenated (impure) blood back to the heart.”

As the animal struggles to breathe, it dies in 15 to 20 minutes as the blood drains out completely. In Jhatka, the animal’s head is severed in a single blow, the professor added.

Maulana Maqsood Imran Rashadi, imam of City Jamia Masjid, Bengaluru, said Halal means something fit to eat.

“We don’t sacrifice the animal to God, but make the cut by reciting a prayer in God’s name. The blood is drained out completely to ensure diseases are not passed on (to human beings) as a result of consuming blood in case the animal has infections. This doesn’t apply to aquatic animals,” he said.

Vendors in KR Market also said Halal meat lasts longer than other cuts since it is free of blood.

What vets say

Veterinarians in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) animal husbandry wing who constantly monitor slaughterhouses and examine animals chosen for slaughter said although the Food Safety Act has details on the slaughtering of animals, it does not refer to any type of cuts.

“As per the rules, the animals must be stunned first and then killed to ensure they do not suffer or experience pain. None of the neighbourhood mutton shops follows these regulations other than those regulated by the government,” a senior BBMP official explained.

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