89,902 cattle were slaughtered without prior stunning in Ireland in the last 18 months, according to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
175,374 animals were slaughtered across 2025 and the first half of 2026, including 89,402 cattle.
In 2025, the number of cattle slaughtered without being stunned first was 55,504. During the first half of 2026 (January-June), the figure was 33,898 cattle.
The response from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine also disclosed that 84,972 sheep were slaughtered without prior stunning across the two periods – a combined total of 175,374 animals.
The Department declined to provide figures for the scale of halal meat production in Ireland – and withheld information about approved slaughterhouses on commercial-sensitivity grounds.
The figures come amid questions about the scale of religious slaughter in Ireland, where exemptions from the usual requirement to stun animals before slaughter can apply in certain circumstances.
RELIGIOUS SLAUGHTER
Many Muslims reject stunning because they believe it may cause the animal to die before the religious slaughter takes place.
In mainstream Islamic halal slaughter, the animal’s throat must be cut using a sharp knife. The animal must then be allowed to bleed after the cut; blood is prohibited for consumption in Islam.
The RSPCA and other animal welfare groups oppose slaughter without prior stunning, arguing that conscious animals can experience pain and distress during the throat cut and take time to lose consciousness.
The RSCPA has called for an end to the religious exemption and for clear labelling of non-stun meat.
NSCPA Ireland’s farm-animal policy says animals should be rendered unconscious and insensible to pain, and explicitly opposes ritual slaughter where pre-stunning does not take place.
Kosher meat is produced through shechita – the Jewish religious method of slaughter. According to the UK Food Standards Agency, kosher slaughter requires the animal to be slaughtered without prior stunning.
The RSPCA has said that all animals slaughtered under shechita are non-stunned.
It is not clear how many non-stun animals can be classified as halal, and the figures may include animals slaughtered for kosher production as well as other non-stun religious slaughter.
The Department claimed it was unable to provide figures establishing how much halal meat is produced in Ireland, how much is consumed domestically, and how much is exported.
The FOI request sought information on the number of slaughterhouses approved for halal production, the species of animals involved, production volumes and the proportion of meat destined for domestic and international markets.
For 2025, the Department recorded 55,504 cattle and 60,998 sheep slaughtered without prior stunning.
For the first two quarters of 2026, the figures stood at 33,898 cattle and 24,974 sheep.
The Department did not provide a figure for the overall volume of halal meat produced, saying it did not hold records answering requests concerning production volumes and related export information.
It also withheld information about approved establishments on commercial-sensitivity grounds and declined to release material sought concerning internal guidance and procedures.
The response also failed to provide the requested records of correspondence between the Department and the slaughterhouses on the subject since 2020.
Questions have previously been asked about what information the State collects about halal meat and which agency, if any, holds it.
TDs have previously raised halal meat, non-stun slaughter and the lack of transparency around meat labelling.
Ken O’Flynn of Independent Ireland last year asked the Agriculture Minister whether the Department had conducted recent audits of the traceability and segregation of halal-certified meat, and whether findings would be published to help ensure accurate labelling.
O’Flynn has described Ireland’s halal meat industry as “a law unto itself,” adding that the public had a right to accurate information.
The Minister replied that the Department had conducted no recent audits of halal meat traceability or segregation, instead pointing to a targeted audit conducted by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland back in September 2021.
Last December, TD Mattie McGrath sought answers to parliamentary questions, asking the Minister to review licensing and oversight of slaughterhouses carrying out non-stun slaughter.
McGrath also pressed the Minister about considering mandatory stunning for all animals.
The Tipperary TD also asked the Minister to disclose details and findings of slaughterhouse inspections and audits, and to explain whether Irish farmers are informed or consulted before animals are slaughtered without stunning for halal markets.
Robert Troy of Fianna Fáil also asked whether non-stun slaughter was permitted in Ireland for religious purposes and how many non-stun slaughters were permitted and carried out annually on religious grounds.