The British Muslim butchers fear that their survival is at stake at the hands of the supermarket chains which have decided to market 'halal' meat.
A leading British supermarket chain has introduced its first frozen range of halal products to 83 stores across the country this week, reports the weekly 'Eastern Eye'.
The weekly in its latest issue said Asda, the American-owned company has also been running a pilot halal meat counter in Birmingham.
If successful, it plans to launch counters in more stores nationwide. The supermarket is following in the footsteps of another popular retail company Tesco, which has a halal counter in its Slough branch on the outskirts of the capital which, chillingly for desi businesses, is referred to on its website as 'the only butcher that offers fresh organic meat locally'.
The weekly said the loss of the halal butchers will be another blow to the great British high street tradition.
Akram-ul-Haq, spokesman for the Lady Pool Road Business Association in Birmingham and a butcher since the 1970s voiced his concern over the latest move and said if the pilot is successful, there is no doubt that Muslim butchers would be squeezed out of the business.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan (English)
