February 12 Letters: Is humane slaughter possible?

AS usual, Barrie Frost has identified another of the problems which concern the majority of right-thinking Englishmen. Man’s inhumanity to man, and when this is not enough, man’s atrocious behaviour towards animals (The Yorkshire Post, February 9).

Barrie’s letters and recent article covering subjects such as global warming, the milk crisis, the coal industry, overseas aid etc, identify areas of real concern. These are matters that those 650 people who we voted into Parliament and pay so well should be addressing, and addressing with the same kind of empathy and understanding.

Recently, Barrie stated that he was unsure who to vote for at the next election, well, looking at the 100 areas of concern in the Ukip manifesto, may I suggest that these are the people who could have actions that go some way towards a sensible way forward to a better life for the native Briton.

I recently asked my MP to consider doing something to try to resolve the problem regarding the loss of rural bus services. His reply? “Although it is something that has been on my agenda for some time there is no way that it could be put through before the election.” Only five years?

From: Martin D Stern, Hanover Gardens, Salford.

BARRIE Frost (The Yorkshire Post, February 9) may be correct that “reports have shown an increase in the number of halal and kosher animals slaughtered without stunning”, though I must take issue with his description of them as “disturbing”.

While I cannot comment on the details of Muslim practice, I am familiar with shechitah, 
the Jewish method of slaughter in which the animals’ throats 
are also cut without pre-stunning.

Even the slightest nick in the knife that might catch on the throat tissues renders the process invalid and the slaughterer is obliged to check his knife regularly to ensure that none are present.

As a result of the cut, the blood flows out very rapidly and the flow to the brain is reduced to such a low level that unconsciousness sets in within seconds, certainly long before the animal could become aware of what had happened to it. In effect, it has stunned the animal extremely efficiently.

Dare I make the suggestion that anyone who really has animal welfare at heart, whatever their religion, should insist 
on only eating meat produced by shechitah, the most humane method of slaughter available?

From: David March, Springhill Court, Tadcaster.

THERE have been many stories recently regarding the cases of animal abuse in slaughterhouses that practice halal and non-halal slaughter. The bottom line is that there is no such thing as humane slaughter and for people to think that the meat they eat is somehow acceptable because the poor animal was stunned before having its throat cut is nothing more than sticking their heads in the sand.

All slaughterhouses are hell on earth, while trying to portray themselves as places that treat animals with humanity and respect.

A figure to bear in mind is the fact that, last year, over half (56 per cent) of slaughterhouse inspectors reported being threatened by slaughterhouse staff while trying to report animal abuse cases. Surely this should show people what the reality of the situation is?

There is only one way to ensure that this barbarity ends, and that is for people to adopt a meat-free lifestyle.

Next stop a private NHS?

From: George McManus, Whins Lane, Long Riston, Hull.

WE should all be worried by the recent King’s Fund statement that Tory NHS reforms have damaged the NHS. However, their unwillingness to conflate privatisation and reorganisation gives further cause for concern.

The NHS now has more bureaucracy than ever.

Tory reforms were not designed to improve services but to increase competition. In England we now have CCGs, local commissioners, hospital trusts, ambulance trusts, community health trusts, NHS England, 
the CQC, Public Health England, and external consultancy firm Monitor.

In Scotland, there is one local health authority in each region. That’s it. So costs are lower and, as administration costs in England escalate, hospitals like that in Beverley and at Castle Hill with their state-of-the-art facilities, become more attractive to the private sector with its reduced bureaucracy.

The privatisation train has pulled out of the station, albeit slowly. But it’s coming to a station near you.

Slippery slide
of education

From: N Richardson, Kirkheaton, Huddersfield.

ALTHOUGH Tom Richmond makes interesting points in his Saturday Opinion (The Yorkshire Post, February 7), I wonder how easy it is for anyone to monitor and improve diverse youngsters when their “performance slips below the Government’s targets”?

Is that slips as in slips on ice, or accidentally slips across the wet bathroom floor?

Perhaps the slips are persistent because some subjects are both dull and difficult – slips related to our ignorance of how the human mind actually gets things done?