The proposals disclosed to The Times are set to anger religious groups, who claim it will end thousands of years of religious rites.

Under European animal welfare regulations, all farm animals must be stunned before slaughter, unless they are killed by religious methods known as halal for Muslims and shechita for Jews. Both methods involve religously trained slaughtermen using sharp knives to cut the throats of cows, sheep and chickens and letting them bleed to death.

The Farm Animal Welfare Council, which is appointed and funded by the Government, has concluded after a four-year study that Jewish and Muslim methods of slaughter are inhumane. It insists they be brought into line with mainstream regulations. However, consultations between the council and religious groups have broken down, and the council has been accused of “institutionalised religious prejudice”.

Members of the council, including academics, vets and farmers, have visited halal and shechita abattoirs, and examined the available scientific evidence, which suggests that cows and poultry take up to two minutes to lose consciousness after their throats are cut, while for sheep it is between 14 and 70 seconds.

Under Jewish and Muslim law, an animal must be healthy and uninjured when it is slaughtered, but authorities from both religions say that stunning an animal amounts to injuring it. They also insist that their method of slaughter is humane.

In Britain, it is thought that about 90 per cent of halal meat is electrically pre-stunned, although many Islamic consumers insist this is not acceptable. However, Jewish law is far less flexible, and all pre-stunning is forbidden.

Dr Masood Khawaja, president of the Halal Food Authority, said: “There is no evidence that animals feel pain. If you use a razor-sharp knife in one sweep, it is like cutting your finger on paper. The animal does not feel anything at all.”

Neville Nagler, director-general of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: “Pre-stunning is against our very long- standing religious principles. There would be a very serious outcry at interference in what has been a fundamental religious rite for thousands of years.”

The Campaign for the Protection of Shechita has declared that the council is one of the most “stubborn repositries of institutionalised religious prejudice in this country”. However, a source at the council said: “If modern slaughter methods can avoid suffering, it is not unreasonable for religious leaders to reconsider their position.”

The report, due out next month, is expected to recommend that Jewish and Muslim authorities find acceptable ways to stun animals before slaughter and then the Government should remove the exemption.

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