Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether hospitality sector venues must state when non-stunned meat is being served.

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter. All animals must be stunned before slaughter to make them unconscious and insensible to pain. The only exception to this is when animals are slaughtered in accordance with religious rites, for the food of Muslims and Jews.

The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter but respects the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.

There are no regulations that require the labelling of meat from animals slaughtered without stunning, but the Government expects industry to provide consumers with information on which to make an informed choice about their food. Any information provided on the method of slaughter must be accurate and not misleading to the consumer.

Major retailers have sourcing policies requiring that fresh meat comes from animals that have been stunned before slaughter. They may operate limited concessions for halal or kosher food that will be clearly labelled. Stunning before slaughter is also required by some farm assurance schemes, such as Red Tractor and RSPCA Assured. Restaurants and other food businesses may, on request, advise whether the foods they sell are certified as halal and whether the animals were stunned before slaughter. Under existing rules, all food information provided by out‑of‑home businesses must be accurate and must not mislead consumers.

There are no regulations that prevent meat from animals slaughtered without stunning from being exported. The 2024 Food Standards Agency Slaughter Sector Survey sets out reported destinations for meat, including whether it was exported.