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Aussie Butcher Cops Official Complaint For Advertising It Is Non-Halal Certified

Aussie Butcher Cops Official Complaint For Advertising It Is Non-Halal Certified

The Advertising Standards Board​ agreed the sign amount to 'inciting hatred or contempt' against Muslims.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Butchers around the world have been going through the process of getting halal certified so that they can open up their business to Muslims.

Under Islamic culture, meat has to be killed in a certain way in order for it to be halal (meaning permissible). In involves killing the animal through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe and letting them bleed out in order for the meat to be 'clean'.

One South Australian butcher has found themselves in hot water because they are advertising themselves as non-halal certified.

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The owner of Valley Butchers in Adelaide said: "The sign is only stating that we are not halal approved. In no way is it meant in a malice way.

"We where getting asked quite frequently whether we are halal approved so I am just stating that we are not and that saves a lot of wasted time."

However, people in the community took offence to the sign because they thought the butcher was trying to discriminate against Muslims.

An official complaint was lodged with the Advertising Standards Board, who ended up siding with the complainant.

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According to the Daily Mail, the document stated: "It pokes fun of a specific group of people based on religious belief. It is very intentional and obvious.

"Jokes like this on a public shopfront perpetuate a culture of vilification towards religious minorities, that results in harm towards them."

The Advertising Standards Board stated that if Valley Butchers wrote 'Not Halal Certified' or 'Unfortunately Not Halal' then they would have sided with them because it would be 'less likely to have been considered discriminatory or vilifying signage'.

It also took into account that the sign included typical Aussie animals like kangaroos and emus, adding that 'using the phrase...in conjunction with imagery of Australian animals was a suggestion that Islamic dietary practices are not Australian'.

The sign has since been changed.
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"'This advertising would give a strong impression that people of a certain religion or ethnicity might not be welcome in the store," the verdict read.

Valley Butchers agreed to change the sign to 'Not Halal Certified', writing on Facebook that they won't be changing it anymore.

"Firstly we at Valley Butchers would like to thank everyone for the support and encouragement, it's been amazing! It's wonderful how loud as Australians wherever we are around the world our voices can be heard, as long as we speak as one.

"Secondly as long as we own the shop the sign won't ever come down! Thank you once again from the team at Valley Butchers!"

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Australia