Religious slaughter exemptions in many countries allow killing of conscious animals without prior stunning, creating significant welfare concerns during the slaughter transition.
The welfare evidence on unstunned religious slaughter consistently shows longer times to loss of consciousness compared to pre-stun methods, increasing the duration of pain and distress. Post-cut stunning, applied immediately after neck incision, addresses welfare concerns while maintaining most religious requirements. Constructive dialogue between welfare scientists and religious authorities has achieved progress in some communities toward higher-welfare religious slaughter.