This Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter. However, this Government respects the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.

The Food Standards Agency carries out a periodic, one-week Slaughter Sector Survey in England and Wales. In the last five years, two surveys have been carried out in 2022 and 2024. Direct comparison between these surveys is difficult due to the high proportion of responses for the destination of meat in 2024 recorded as ‘unknown’, because that particular survey question is not mandatory.

For sheep, 32% of non-stun meat was recorded as exported in 2022, with 0% recorded as having an unknown destination. In 2024, 3% of non-stun meat from sheep was recorded as exported, with 36% recorded as having an unknown destination.

For meat chickens, the proportion of non-stun meat recorded as exported was 5% in 2022, compared to none recorded as exported in 2024. In both years, a further 1-2% of non-stun meat was recorded as having an unknown destination.

Copies of the 2022 and 2024 Survey Reports are attached. The 2026 Survey will be published later this year.

No. The government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter, and we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.

The National Procurement Policy Statement underscores the government’s commitment to increasing procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practices, including sourcing products raised to high UK welfare standards.

The government sets out required minimum standards for school food in the School Food Standards, to ensure that children are served healthy and nutritious meals at school. The standards do not specify food requirements in terms of cultural or religious needs.

We encourage the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter. However, we respect the rights of religious communities to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. Schools must comply with the School Food Standards but retain flexibility in how they meet them.

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. 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.

No assessment has been made of the individuals and communities who consume meat from animals slaughtered without stunning.

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.

An industry-led initiative called the Demonstration of Life Protocol, which the Government supports, provides assurance for Muslim consumers that the stunning of sheep and goats is compatible with halal slaughter requirements, while protecting the welfare of the animals involved and supporting opportunities for trade.

As this data is not held centrally the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Food in Prison Policy Framework requires that prisoners are provided with meals that meet an individual’s religious, cultural, and medical dietary needs. Prisons provide a multi-choice, pre-select menu for the lunchtime or evening meal which must reflect the diverse needs of the establishment’s population. When a Halal meat or poultry menu choice is offered, an alternative meat or poultry choice which is not Halal must be provided at the same meal.

All prisons across England and Wales provide prisoners with a choice of at least five meal options at both lunch and the evening meal. As a minimum, these options include: one meat dish, one vegan dish, one vegetarian dish, one Halal dish, and one additional alternative option.

The strategy sets out the Government's ambitious reforms on animal welfare which will improve the lives of millions of animals across the UK. There are no commitments in the strategy that address religious slaughter practices specifically.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Government collect data on procedures involving beagles rather than on individual animals. In 2024, beagles were used in 2,488 procedures, representing 0.2% of all experimental procedures, and a 30% decrease from 2023. The Government have a manifesto commitment to phase out animal use, and we published a strategy in November 2025 to meet our manifesto goals.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of beagles currently used for testing in life sciences laboratories.

I know how strongly my noble friend feels on this issue. I cannot promise him a Bill on this matter, but I can promise him a replacement strategy, which includes specific targets for reducing the use of dogs and, particularly, reducing their use in cardiovascular safety studies by at least 50% by 2030. The Government are also funding the national centre dealing with this issue to develop new, non-animal methods aimed at replacing dogs in regulatory testing. I hope that my noble friend will support the manifesto commitment to phase out use as soon as possible.

My Lords, the noble Lord makes the point, which the Government accept, that animal testing is currently required where alternative, non-animal methods do not exist. We are also working with regulators to see how advances in technology can and will reduce the use, and phase out in some areas. We have a long-term ambition to phase out the use; it is in the manifesto. We have produced the document, but we recognise that, at the moment, medicine occasionally requires that use.

My Lords, I support a reduction in the use of dogs in medical research. However, we have to understand that sometimes dogs are used because they have the same diseases as humans have; for instance, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which is caused by a gene mutation called dystrophin which occurs in both dogs and humans, and kills children and dogs. Through a study of two retrievers who had the genes but were not affected, we learned the technique of silencing the gene—to the benefit of dogs and humans. Similarly, in other areas of cancer immunology, doing experiments to learn about both dogs and humans

has enhanced their immunity. Lastly, insulin was discovered doing research on dogs, because dogs also get diabetes.