Religious Slaughter of Animals in Poland

The aim of this study is to show various aspects related to the slaughter of cattle and poultry in Poland for religious purposes and attempt to estimate the scale of this slaughter and possible economic losses for companies in the meat and poultry industry if a ban on religious slaughter was introduced. The slaughter of animals for slaughter in Poland for religious purposes is carried out on an industrial scale and mainly concerns two species of animals, i.e. cattle and poultry. Its size can be determined only on the basis of estimates, which in the case of cattle and poultry may be 20-40% and 35-55% of the export volume, which in absolute values would correspond to 75-150 thousand tons and 500-800 thousand tons (in hot carcass weight) of beef and poultry meat, respectively. Thus, these are not small amounts. The possible introduction of a ban on the slaughter of animals for slaughter for religious purposes in Poland (with the exception of religious communities) would mean measurable financial losses for the meat and poultry industries, as well as for slaughter cattle and poultry producers. Appropriate indicators were used to determine changes over time. Descriptive and graphical analysis of statistical data was performed and a simulation calculation was made.