What makes meat halal?
Meat is halal when three things are true:
- The animal is permitted. Cattle, sheep, goats, camels, deer, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, ducks and most other grazing animals and non-predatory birds are halal. Pigs, predators with fangs, birds with talons and donkeys are not. See which animals are halal.
- It is slaughtered correctly. A Muslim (or, for many scholars, a Jew or Christian) cuts the throat, windpipe and main blood vessels with a sharp knife, saying "Bismillah, Allahu Akbar".
- The blood is drained. Flowing blood is forbidden in the Quran (Al-Baqarah 2:173).
The word for meat slaughtered this way is zabiha (or dhabiha). See zabiha.
The halal slaughter method
| Requirement | Why |
|---|---|
| The animal is alive and healthy at the time of slaughter | Carrion (dead animals) is forbidden |
| A sharp knife, a single swift cut | To minimise suffering |
| Cutting the trachea, oesophagus and jugular veins | To drain blood quickly |
| Invoking Allah's name (tasmiyah) | Required by most scholars |
| Draining the blood fully | Blood is haram |
| Not slaughtering in front of other animals | Recommended for the animal's welfare |
Stunning: where scholars differ
Most UK abattoirs stun animals before slaughter, as the law normally requires, and there is an exemption for halal and kosher slaughter. Scholars and certifiers differ on whether stunned meat can be halal:
- No stunning at all: some scholars and certifiers, including the Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC), require the animal to be fully conscious, hand-slaughtered and unstunned.
- Reversible stunning accepted: others, including the Halal Food Authority (HFA), accept a stun that does not kill the animal, as long as it is alive at the moment of slaughter.
The Food Standards Agency's 2018 slaughter survey found that 58% of animals slaughtered by the halal method in England and Wales were stunned first. Read more in is stunned meat halal? and HMC vs HFA.
Machine-slaughtered chicken
Large poultry plants often use a rotating blade to slaughter chickens. Some certifiers accept this if a Muslim operates the machine and recites the tasmiyah; others require hand slaughter for each bird. See is machine-slaughtered chicken halal?
How to buy halal meat in the UK
| Where | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Halal butcher | A current certificate from a named certifier, and clear answers about suppliers. See how to find a halal butcher you can trust |
| Supermarket | A halal logo on the pack itself, not just a shelf label. See is supermarket meat halal? |
| Restaurant or takeaway | A certificate on display, and whether halal and non-halal meat share grills. See is your takeaway really halal? |
| Ready meals and processed meat | A halal logo, because ingredients alone cannot show how meat was slaughtered |
Halal is not a legally protected word in the UK, so the certifier behind a logo matters. See how to check a halal certificate.
Qurbani on Eid al-Adha
For the Eid sacrifice, the animal must also meet age and health rules, and in the UK it must be slaughtered in a licensed slaughterhouse. See our Qurbani UK guide for dates, rules and how to arrange it.
Halal meat and kosher meat
Kosher slaughter (shechita) is also a throat cut without stunning, but it follows Jewish law and uses a different blessing. Scholars differ on whether kosher meat is halal. See halal vs kosher.
Frequently asked questions
What is halal meat?
Halal meat comes from a permitted animal slaughtered by a Muslim with a swift cut to the throat while invoking Allah's name, with the blood drained. Pork and carrion are never halal.
Is halal meat stunned in the UK?
Some is and some is not. According to the FSA's 2018 survey, 58% of animals slaughtered by the halal method in England and Wales were stunned first. HMC-certified meat is never stunned; HFA-certified meat may be.
How do I know if meat is really halal?
Buy from a butcher or brand with a current certificate from a recognised certifier, check the certificate's dates and business name, and look the business up on the certifier's website.
Is halal meat healthier?
Halal is a religious standard, not a health claim. Draining the blood is required for religious reasons. The quality of the meat depends on the farm and butcher, as with any meat.
Can non-Muslims eat halal meat?
Yes. Halal meat is ordinary meat slaughtered by a particular method, and anyone can eat it.