A conference organized by universities in Indonesia and Malaysia took place today, with Eyes on Animals representatives Asalet and Lesley as guest speakers. Our two talks focused on animal-welfare concerns during non-stun slaughter of cattle, sheep, and goats, based on our work in Turkey and other Islamic countries over the past 15 years and Asalet spoke about the verses in the Koran and teachings in hadiths, which encourage compassion and do not insist that slaughter methods forbid stunning, but rather just forbid carrion.
Around 120 scholars registered for the event, and many thoughtful questions were raised during the discussions. Dr. Andy Grist from the University of Bristol also gave a presentation on the science of stunning, helping to debunk myths that continue to circulate among those unfamiliar with electric and captive bolt stunning methods.
It was a very successful and engaging conference. We would like to sincerely thank the organizers for inviting us and for encouraging such an open and critical discussion.
