I had the misfortune of going to a farm with my dad, uncle and younger cousins. We were 13, 10 and 8 years old and watched in shocked silence as a beautiful brown and white cow was grabbed and forced into an open small shed that only had 2 side walls that sat on a slab of concrete. All the animals knew what was going to happen judging by their startled behaviour. Still watching, the farmer slit the cow's throat open and left it there, laying on the slab, in pain, banging its head against the concrete - repeatedly. The dull thud of the head whacking made it twice as bad. Our pain was intense and could not wait for the cow to die so it no longer suffered.
That evening, we had a barbecue, eating hamburgers made with that cow. My cousins and I counselled each other, saying it's no different from buying meat from the supermarket - as killing must occur for one to eat meat.
So I would say it's not just in certain religious customs that do that awful slaughter (I'm not Muslim) - it's a selfish act where the perpetrators put their self needs ahead of the defenceless animal. I've never been a big meat eater, and it's stuff like this that makes me question a lot about humans and what we get up to.
I don't even like fishing anymore - I've seen enough animal pain and suffering to last a lifetime.
