Some Australian Muslims are confused about whether the chicken they consume is permissible under Islamic laws after the release of a report into the slaughtering process of poultry meat in Australia.
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) recently released a report that found the method of controlled atmospheric stunning — where chickens lose consciousness by being exposed to a mixture of gases prior to being slaughtered — was not fit for halal consumption.
The report concluded that most of the birds showed no vital signs after the stunning and before the slaughter.
According to Islamic rulings, animals must be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter.
Rosel Najem, a Muslim woman based in Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales, is confused about whether the products she has eaten in the past are acceptable.
Ms Najem does not know what information to trust.
"If an organisation like that makes a claim saying the meat we classified as halal is now not halal, if you can't trust them it makes you question anything else," she said.
"This week, we've been vegetarian and [eating] seafood at this stage, until clarification."
Calls for more detailed report
The Islamic Coordinating Council of Victoria is the country's largest halal certification agency.
The council's head of Shariah affairs, Bekim Hasani, said the report should have included more details on the different stunning techniques used by abattoirs.
Dr Hasani says most abattoirs use the halal-certified method of waterbath stunning, in which birds become unconscious after being immersed in an electric bath of water.
He says many Muslims who live in western countries, such as Australia, don't understand the difference between waterbath and controlled atmospheric stunning.
Most abattoirs are halal-certified and none of them use controlled atmospheric stunning, Dr Hasani says.
"All of them use waterbath stunning," he said.
In a statement, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils raised concerns about the ANIC report, stating it had only inspected one site on one day.
It questioned how all abattoirs could be declared as haram — forbidden — based on the audit process.
Organisations in talks
In a statement, ANIC said access to multiple abattoirs was refused and it could only work with one facility that allowed access.
In its report, ANIC said it was engaging with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to discuss measures that could be taken against the alleged false advertisement and labelling of halal products.
The ACCC said it had some engagement with ANIC about allegations of false and misleading halal claims.
The ACCC said people concerned about the integrity of a halal-certified product should contact the relevant certification body.
