THE number of animals killed without pre-stunning has risen sharply, according to analysis by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) of the latest survey released by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Slaughter without stunning unnecessarily compromises the welfare of animals at the time of death, state the BVA; who add that almost a quarter of sheep and goats slaughtered between April and June were killed without first being made insensible to pain.

This is an increase from 15% in 2013, which the veterinary body blame on the introduction of legislation allowing an exemption for animals that are slaughtered for religious purposes.

The number of chickens being slaughtered without pre-stunning also soared from 3% in 2013 to 18.5% in 2017, the FSA figures also revealed.

British Veterinary Association President Gudrun Ravetz said, ‘This huge increase in the number of sheep, goats and poultry that are not stunned or not stunned effectively before slaughter is a grave concern to our profession. Millions of individual animals are affected, making this a major animal welfare issue.

‘The supply of meat from animals that have not been stunned massively outstrips the demand from the communities for which it is intended and is entering the mainstream market unlabelled.

‘In the light of these official figures we reiterate our call for all animals to be stunned before slaughter’.

The BVA has long campaigned for the re-introduction of law that guarantees all animals are stunned before slaughter on the grounds of animal welfare.