Why is halal legal?

[Rayaan]

Halal is barbaric.
The wiki article I quoted itself, gave sources and quotes from reputable people in the fields of medicine, science and animal welfare, that slitting the throat of an animal and letting it bleed out for up to 2 minutes in excruciating pain is NOT humane. It is NOT on a level par with stunning an animal first. Don't even go there. It's an argument which has been disproven already by people with far much more expertise than you and I.

This doesn't mean that what you saw in the wiki article is correct. As it happens in many studies in the field of science, you'll see that there are scientists who come up with different and even contrary results. You have to decide for yourself which is more sound and reasonable. For example, Dr. Temple Grandin, an animal scientist from Colorado, has done a tremendous amount of research on the subject of animal slaughtering and suffering. Here's a study of hers and I think it's well worth the read (or a brief glance at least):

Religious Slaughter and Animal Welfare: A Discussion for Meat Scientists

Quote from the Article:

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Scientific researchers agree that sheep lose consciousness within 2 to 15 seconds after both carotid arteries are cut (Nangeroni and Kennett, 1963; Gregory and Wotton, 1984; Blackmore, 1984). However, studies with cattle and calves indicate that most animals lose consciousness rapidly, however, some animals may have a period of prolonged sensibility (Blackwore, 1984; Daly et al, 1988) that lasts for over a minute. Other studies with bovines also indicate that the time required for them to become unconscious is more variable than for sheep and goats (Munk et al., 1976; Gregory and Wotten, 1984). The differences between cattle and sheep can be explained by differences in the anatomy of their blood vessels.

Observations by the first author of both calf and cattle slaughter indicate that problems with prolonged consciousness can be corrected. When a shochet uses a rapid cutting stroke, 95% of the calves collapse almost immediately (Grandin 1987). When a slower, less decisive stroke was used, there was an increased incidence of prolonged sensibility. Approximately 30% of the calves cut with a slow knife stroke had a righting reflex and retained the ability to walk for up to 30 seconds.

Gregory (1988) provided a possible explanation for the delayed onset of unconsciousness. A slow knife stroke may be more likely to stretch the arteries and induce occlusion. Rapid loss of consciousness will occur more readily if the cut is made as close to the jaw bone as religious law will permit, and the head holder is loosened immediately after the cut. The chin lift should remain up. Excessive pressure applied to the chest by the rear pusher gate will slow bleed out. Gentle operation of the restrainer is essential. Observations indicate that calm cattle lose consciousness more rapidly and they are less likely to have contracted occluded blood vessels. Calm cattle will usually collapse within 10 to 15 seconds[/i].

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Also, here's a lecture by her on humane animal slaughter (Part 1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoNErsJNPzw

Just saying a word before killing is as meaningless as it gets in my book. Talk about religious in words only.

Of course ...

It's not only the words that matter, but especially the faith and intention in our hearts - and the two are not necessarily exclusive - we have to say the words and know the reason for saying them at the same time.

Its a question of suffering. A shot to the head is less painfull than a slit throat.

The suffering of the animal ends very quickly and it doesn't matter once it is killed and eaten. As I said before, we do this as a sacrifice, and we believe that there is a greater blessing in the food when God's name is mentioned upon the slaughtering.