Lambs to the Slaughter

I slaughtered my first ever lamb yesterday. Before I continue please don't worry - it is perfectly legal to "home slaughter" as long as the meat is eaten solely by the people of the household, which it will be.

I won't hide the fact I was very nervous about the whole experience. You tell yourself it wont be any problem but once you have that knife in your hand and the lamb's eye looking at you it is a totally different ball game.

We first had to catch the lamb which was a bit like cat 'n' mouse stuff ending up with a rugby tackle. We then held it down and stroked it until it calmed down and was a bit more relaxed. According to our tradition we can only eat meat that has been slaughtered in accordance with the Prophetic way that goes back to the Prophet Abraham, i.e. a swift clean cut across the throat that severs the windpipe and all major arteries. I know a lot of people think this is "barbaric" (as one person down here put it) but if you think this is barbaric go to an abbatoir. OK they may stun the animal, but the stun is hit or miss. Some get fully stunned, others not and some not at all. By the time the slaughterman sticks them some regain consciousness to find themselves upside down and then stuck in the throat which must be bloody painful. I truly believe that the whole stunning thing is a joke - it is presented as for the benefit of the animal but I think it is for the benefit of the abbatoir who can get through more livestock in one day.

Our way is different. You spend time with the animal to calm it, you say a prayer and you cut it so quickly that is immediately faints as all oxygen and blood stops going to the brain. They have a painless and peaceful death. Also, scientifically this is the cleanest way of slaughtering an animal as it bleeds it the quickest possible way. One other reason, and if you don't believe in the soul/spirit then this will mean nothing to you, for cutting them this way is that the soul is immeditaley released

The whole process was a bit daunting. I didn't feel guilty but you just want to make sure the animal feels no pain at all. I did not enjoy the actual cutting - I think anyone that does needs their heads examined and should not be let near an animal again. I was totally conscious of the fact that this animal was giving its life in order for us to eat - it had to be treated with the upmost respect and it was. A wsit cut and everything was severed and the animal fainted and then died.

My friend also cut 3 lambs and the bodies were then bundled into a van and driven to my house to be gutted and skinned. This is where the hard work began. Without being too graphic there was a lot of mess, a lot of blood and a lot of smell. I have a slaughterman as a neighbour so he skinned and gutted them for me. It did not look like something I would like to do, but according to my ethos I do want to be able to do it in the future. As a skill I think it's important to have.

So here was the end result. Four lambs hung-up and ready for butchering (which will be this evening!). Last night, after spending 1 hour trying to smash a whole into the driest earth possible to bury the entrails, heads, etc, I sat down to a nice meal which included some liver! Very very nice!!

On the whole I can see why people would not be bothered to go through all this. It was a lot of hard work - not only was there the mess, there was the time spent cleaning up afterwards, burying the remains, cleaning myself up, etc. I was shattered at the end of the night.

One final thing - the skins. I you want to have them as rugs, etc you need to pour salt on them as soon as possible after being taken off. They were left overnight then this afternoon I took them up to Fenland tannery in Bridgewater. A very very nice man by the name of Andy took some time out of his own accord to show me how the whole process works. For £15 they basically turn your mangled bloody mess of a sheep skin into a lovely rug. When I get them back in 5 weeks I will show you the end product which will be floor rugs I think.

So, all in all it was an enligtening experience and one I think people should do or at least witness so they understand where their meat comes from. People are so far removed from the reality of the meat industry they dont look beyond the nicely packaged chops or leg of lamb in Tescos. Doing this has made me all the more keen to continue to only eat meat I know has had a good ending.