A man is calling for all Bournemouth cafes and takeaways to be obliged to say whether their meat is slaughtered by Muslim rules.

Animal rights campaigner Gary Hazel claimed some of the methods used are "very cruel" and people should be able to make an informed choice.

Jewish and Muslim communities are exempt from a law that requires animals to be stunned before their throats are cut. The RSPCA said that Muslim interpretations differ and sometimes the animals are stunned and sometimes they are not.

Gary Hazel, 37, a chef and publican from Bournemouth town centre, said: "A lot of people confuse the issue with race and religion. That's a distraction. For me, it's animal cruelty, and the way they slaughtered."

He spoke out after trying eight different cafes on a night out and finding all served Halal meat. He then went on a tour of takeaways between Ashley Cross and Boscombe with a vegan friend and after speaking to the staff said he found 41 out of 45 served Halal meat.

Mr Hazel has written to the council and Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns about the issue. He said: "Bournemouth council could make it a condition of licence that all meat products could be clearly labelled so we could at least make an informed choice about where we spend our money."

Bournemouth Council said the national law do not oblige takeaways to put up notices saying whether they serve Halal or non Halal meat. The council does have the power to compel those that advertise Halal meat to prove that it is genuine. Sarah Rogers, Senior Licensing Officer, said: "As far as licensing is concerned we are unable to impose conditions on licences regarding the origins of meat."

Cllr Dave Smith, the cabinet member for communities, whose portfolio covers licensing, said: "This issue is not a priority for the council at the moment. I am sure if customers inquire they would be informed how the meat was prepared."

Bournemouth Echo, 19 October 2012

The RSPCA briefing on religious slaughter in fact states that 90% of halal meat sold in the UK has been pre-stunned. If Gary Hazel's motive for this campaign was his concern that ritual slaughter without stunning is cruel – which is itself a matter of debate – then his demand would be for meat to be labelled as not having been pre-stunned, rather than labelled as halal.

It is also notable that anti-halal campaigners like Hazel rarely have anything to say about schechita, the Jewish method of ritual slaughter, which requires that all animals should be killed without stunning. There's a parallel here with the Islamophobes who bang on about Sharia tribunals constituting a parallel legal system but ignore the existence of Beth Din courts in the Jewish community.

Hazel's claim that the growing campaign against halal slaughter has nothing to do with race and religion is at best naive. Then again, I wonder if our anti-halal campaigner could be in any way related to this Gary Hazel:

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A Bournemouth councillor made a public apology for controversial online comments about the English Defence League.

Conservative Cllr Sue Anderson read out the apology at Tuesday's full council meeting. The mum of four, who represents Moordown, had said "nobody else except the EDL stick up for the English". She also tweeted to an account jointly run by a woman of Asian descent: "If you don't like it here go back to where you came from."

She told the full council the tweets were made in haste during a late night conversation without understanding the EDL's policies. Cllr Anderson added that her tweet to the joint account "could have been offensive" and she made an unreserved apology. She concluded by saying she abhorred any sort of intolerance.

Cllr Anderson, who referred herself to the standards board after the controversy broke, has also been told to do equality and diversity training.

Bournemouth Echo, 18 June 2012

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A Bournemouth councillor has apologised "unreservedly" after saying online that only the English Defence League "sticks up for the English".

Conservative councillor Sue Anderson said she had suspended herself from the party and referred herself for disciplinary procedures.

She made the comment via her Twitter account on Saturday.

Ms Anderson said she had also referred herself to Bournemouth Council's Standards Board.

The married grandmother has been a councillor for the Moordown ward in the Dorset town since 2007.

Her Twitter comment posted in a conversation on Saturday read: "but nobody else except the EDL stick up for the English." The account has since been taken down from the site.

On Sunday Ms Anderson issued a statement saying the comment had been made in haste.

"As a result of the attention it has attracted, I have been made aware that a previous comment may also have been offensive. For both comments I apologise unreservedly. I would like to make it clear that I in no way support the English Defence League or any other organisation that promotes intolerance."

She said she realised her comments were "incompatible with active participation within the Conservative Party" so had suspended her membership of the Bournemouth East Conservative Association and Bournemouth Conservatives Council Group.

BBC News, 7 May 2012

The comment that Anderson concedes "may also have been offensive" read: "If you don't like it here go back to where you came from."

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