Viva! - Press Release Index

Viva!
8 York Court
Wilder Street
Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000
Fax: 0117 924 4646

email:
becky@viva.org.uk

17 March 2000 - for immediate release

VIVA! CAMPAIGNERS FILM ILLEGAL SHEEP SLAUGHTER AT EID-EL-KABIR FESTIVAL IN FRANCE

Viva! campaigners secretly filmed the barbaric slaughter of conscious sheep at Stains, nr. Paris yesterday (16.03.00) as part of the annual festival of Eid-el-Kabir.

The slaughter took place in a disused railway shed. Viva! also has film taken on Monday (13.03.00) which how British sheep were kept in disused railway carriages next to the site for days before being killed.

Sheep were killed, skinned and disembowelled in front of one another. Viva!’s film shows conscious sheep being held down and having their throats cut with blunt knives. It typically takes several cuts to slice the animals’ throats and they take minutes to die.

The film also shows animals being dragged around the shed by the leg, fleece and horns. Animals waiting to be killed have their legs tied together with string and are left lying on the floor. Some sheep struggle and try to stand up. Others lie on the floor exhausted and gasping for breath.

Under EU law, animals slaughtered by religious methods do not have to be pre-stunned but they must be killed in licensed abattoirs. At Stains, French police were at the entrance to the site but they did not watch the killing or make any attempt to prevent it from happening.

Says Viva! Campaigner Becky Smith, “The scenes we witnessed at Stains were horrific. I could clearly see sheep breathing after their throats had been cut. These animals were killed illegally and yet the authorities stood by and did nothing.”

Ms. Smith continued, “Viva! is opposed to all animal slaughter for meat. We can’t pretend that when animals are killed behind slaughterhouse walls their pain is somehow lessened. However, if the killing for Eid-el-Kabir was confined to licensed slaughterhouses it would, at least, place a limit on the number of animals that could be brutally hacked to death each year. At the moment, there is none.”

For more information or copies of Viva!’s video footage contact Becky Smith on 0117 944 1000



Viva! 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000 Fax: 0117 924 4646 email: becky@viva.org.uk	17 March 2000 - for immediate release VIVA! CAMPAIGNERS FILM ILLEGAL SHEEP SLAUGHTER AT EID-EL-KABIR FESTIVAL IN FRANCE Viva! campaigners secretly filmed the barbaric slaughter of conscious sheep at Stains, nr. Paris yesterday (16.03.00) as part of the annual festival of Eid-el-Kabir. The slaughter took place in a disused railway shed. Viva! also has film taken on Monday (13.03.00) which how British sheep were kept in disused railway carriages next to the site for days before being killed. Sheep were killed, skinned and disembowelled in front of one another. Viva!’s film shows conscious sheep being held down and having their throats cut with blunt knives. It typically takes several cuts to slice the animals’ throats and they take minutes to die. The film also shows animals being dragged around the shed by the leg, fleece and horns. Animals waiting to be killed have their legs tied together with string and are left lying on the floor. Some sheep struggle and try to stand up. Others lie on the floor exhausted and gasping for breath. Under EU law, animals slaughtered by religious methods do not have to be pre-stunned but they must be killed in licensed abattoirs. At Stains, French police were at the entrance to the site but they did not watch the killing or make any attempt to prevent it from happening. Says Viva! Campaigner Becky Smith, “The scenes we witnessed at Stains were horrific. I could clearly see sheep breathing after their throats had been cut. These animals were killed illegally and yet the authorities stood by and did nothing.” Ms. Smith continued, “Viva! is opposed to all animal slaughter for meat. We can’t pretend that when animals are killed behind slaughterhouse walls their pain is somehow lessened. However, if the killing for Eid-el-Kabir was confined to licensed slaughterhouses it would, at least, place a limit on the number of animals that could be brutally hacked to death each year. At the moment, there is none.” For more information or copies of Viva!’s video footage contact Becky Smith on 0117 944 1000