Saturday accused by Marine Le Pen to slaughter according to halal "all meat" distributed in the Ile-de-France, industrialists defend themselves. President of the National Association of interprofessional Livestock and Meat (Interbev), interviewed by France Info, the judge charged the president of the National Front "absolutely false".
"In the Ile-de-France, a vast majority of meat is not slaughtered according to halal or kosher," which involves killing animals without stunning, ensures Dominique Langlois. "It may be that parts or pieces of meat from carcasses are slaughtered according to these rites, but that does not change the quality of meat and it does not change at all the qualities of the product," adds Will it.
For professionals in the meat, the charge of Marine Le Pen "is meant strictly political and did not match the reality of things." "It's a debate that can only be detrimental to both the meat industry to French and French production that does not need it," warned the president of Interbev.
The animal rights groups mobilized
This debate is not new. Since a 1964 decree, the slaughter in France requires the stunning of animals before killing, thereby mitigating their suffering. But European legislation provides an exemption, "when stunning is not compatible with the ritual prescriptions under the free exercise of religion."
Last year, six associations have denounced the increasing proportion of animals slaughtered according to Jewish or Muslim rites. According to the Foundation Brigitte Bardot, who had made an investigation in slaughterhouses, more than 60% of sheep and goats, 28% of adult cattle and 43% of calves were then killed without stunning.
In Ile-de-France, according to a study by the House of livestock and quoted this week on the show Special Envoy on France 2, the five slaughterhouses in the region adhere to Islamic and does not stun their animals. The reasons are economic, in order to distribute the meat in the halal butchers and traditional, where consumers are not necessarily aware of the method of slaughter.
Approval before waive stunning
Two bills were filed in late 2010, the Senate to the Assembly, without success, to obtain a specific labeling of meat slaughtered without stunning paperless payday loans. "The consumer has the right to know what he eats. He has the right not to eat meat slaughtered in a ritual which does not believe him, "argued the UMP deputy Nicolas Dhuicq. A new amendment, introduced in September 2011, was also rejected.
On 29 December, a decree was published in the Official Journal, however, requiring 275 French slaughterhouses to obtain, on or after 1 July 2012, before an official authorization from the rule of stunning. "It does [may] be granted only to slaughterhouses in favor [...] of a registration system to verify that it is used to slaughter without stunning as a result of justifying the commercial orders, "said the Ministry of Agriculture.
Marine Le Pen wants to complain
The animal rights groups have expressed quite satisfied with this text. "Being able to justify a ritual slaughter is a specific order is important because, currently, most of the meat of this kind of slaughter is found in conventional circuits without any indication to consumers," recalled Christophe Marie, spokeswoman Brigitte Bardot Foundation.
Marine Le Pen was not in favor waiting for the entry into force of the decree. On the sidelines of the convention of his party, being held this weekend in Lille, it announced its intention to attack "a few major retail supermarkets in Ile-de-France for misrepresentation of the product." She said wanting to file a complaint with a civil order for a judge to be seized, which could lead to an investigation of several months.
On the government side, said Sunday it does not have "accurate information" about the slaughter in Ile-de-France. But a spokesman for the Ministry of Food said that the meat supply in the region "did not originate exclusively" in the slaughterhouses of "proximity", which "may have to supply a particular community, and therefore work according ritual slaughter of halal or kosher. "
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