FGM / GM is GBH

FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) and Male Circumcision is nothing less than GBH (Grievous bodily harm) by another name. We should neither value nor respect a culture that promotes abuse of a child or adult in such a manner. It's banning should be heavily enforced and those that practice such stone-age rituals should be exposed, shamed and imprisoned. It is pathetic that in a modern country we allow such disgusting practices to go unpunished. Every right-minded person should be appalled by such activities which should be consigned to history along with many other simple-minded religious relics. A modern country should be a haven in which children are free from exposure to ancient religions and practices

Stunning. Best practice. Time to label. Time to modernise.

Religious slaughter of animals without prior, full stunning should be banned in the UK. Until we get a ban on it, all religiously slaughtered meat on sale in the UK should be labelled as such regardless of where it came from. There is no argument. We have laws to govern the best possible treatment of animals during slaughter, laws that have developed over time in conjunction with many concerned groups. These laws have evolved and advanced through study and collaboration and we should be leading the way in animal welfare throughout the modern world. ( Amongst others, the BVA, Compassion in World Farming, RSPCA, Federation of Veterinarians of Europe and FAWC all support a ban on non-stun slaughter ). We should be practicing the highest of standards when it comes to animal husbandry, welfare and managing the end of life process. There should be no room for religious exemptions and loop-holes like #RecoverableStun. There is always room for improvement and the only way to ensure that animals don't suffer is to not eat meat.

It is important that we employ the best practice during animal slaughter to minimise the stress and distress caused and the modern consensus is that pre-stunning should be part of that best practice. There are some groups however, who insist on bypassing these laws, claiming their right to religious freedom. Denmark have recently joined a growing list of countries to realise that the backward step of allowing certain groups to flout animal welfare laws is against the flow of national opinion. The Danish Agriculture and Food Minister, Dan Jørgensen

#DarwinDay #moveforward

Charles Darwin was born in England on the 12th February 1809 and he spent his life understanding and studying evolution. His work was a major contributor to our present understanding of evolutionary science. Over 200 years have passed. Yet, in the UK today, we still have religious groups, schools and zoos (!) 'teaching' children twisted and obviously wrong myths. Parents are forcing their religious beliefs on to children and these failings should be countered by a factual, scientific state education system. These outdated institutional behemoths are misleading young minds from a path of evidence based science and study, stifling