The RSPCA has good information on both halal and Kosher slaughter. It appears that most halal slaughter in Australia uses prior stunning whilst Kosher does not. So whilst both cause unnecessary suffering, it appears Kosher slaughter is worse
"There are a small number of abattoirs in Australia that have been granted permission from the relevant State or Territory food authority to conduct religious slaughter without prior stunning – for Kosher or Halal purposes (although the vast majority of
Halal slaughter includes prior stunning). These ‘approvals’ are effectively exemptions to standard Australian slaughter practice. The proportion of animals slaughtered under these exemptions is very small, but nevertheless that any animals are slaughtered without stunning is of concern to the RSPCA.
For cattle and sheep, the requirements for religious slaughter without prior stunning are set out in a nationally adopted guideline
Ritual Slaughter for Ovine (Sheep) and Bovine (Cattle):
- For cattle, stunning is still required but this occurs immediately after the throat is cut. Two separate slaughtermen must be present: one to perform the cut (which must sever both the carotid arteries and jugular veins) and one to perform the stunning.
- For sheep, stunning is not required except where the animal is distressed or does not rapidly lose consciousness, in which case they must be immediately stunned.
The requirements for cattle and sheep are different because cattle take longer than sheep to lose consciousness as they have an extra blood supply to the brain at the back of the neck running along the vertebrae.
A small number of specialised poultry processors conduct Kosher slaughter without stunning to produce Kosher chicken.
The RSPCA is concerned there are much greater risks of an animal suffering during slaughter without stunning than for conventional slaughter. Slaughtering an animal while fully conscious requires additional handling and restraint and means that the animal will experience pain associated with the throat cut and subsequent bleeding out.
For these reasons, the RSPCA is strongly opposed to all forms of slaughter that do not involve prior stunning of the animal.
http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-Kosher-slaughter-in-Australia_117.html
