THE LANCASHIRE Council of Mosques has slammed the decision to stop providing meat from animals that had not been stunned before slaughter, saying it will only serve to increase Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

The Lancashire Council of Mosques (LCM) is calling for a boycott of school meals after Lancashire County Council voted to ban supplying its schools and premises ‘halal’ meat from animals which had not been stunned before slaughter – with the exemption of poultry.

Councillors voted 41 for the ban, 24 against with 15 abstentions.

The decision by the authority’s full council meeting will order its suppliers to provide only ‘halal’ beef and lamb from animals stunned before slaughter.

The LCM insists that only meat from non-stunned animals meet its strict interpretation of halal.

Not all schools in the region are supplied meat from Lancashire County Council suppliers. A number of schools source meat directly from Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC) butchers themselves.

In a statement, the LCM says it 'regrets the failure of the Council to consult with its stakeholders prior to the decision, despite the two organisations having worked together in collaboration over the past decade'.

The statement went on to say: "It is with great regret that once again the issue has been politicised unnecessarily and will only serve to increase Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

"The Lancashire Council of Mosques remains committed to equality and humane treatment of animals and believes in the right of faith communities to exercise their religious requirements in accordance with the Law."

CEO of Lancashire Council of Mosques, Abdul Hamid Qureshi, said: “We understand that Lancashire County Council will be renewing their catering contract in December 2017 and will implement changes in the new year.

"Schools that source their meals from the county council suppliers will, according to this decision, fail to fulfil the LCM Halal criteria.

"Our advice to the community is to stop school meals as soon as this occurs and campaign for change.

"We recognise that this will have a significant impact on schools across Lancashire and more importantly on the children. We are committed to continue working with schools and regret the impact this will have.”