Do the laws of halal/haram food apply to feeding pets/animals?

[Silver Sparrow]

we asked an imam some years back about giving cats commercial cat food, he said its okay, as long as it isnt anything inherently haram (ie. swine).

Coming back to the original question, can i feed our garden birds products made from non-halal beef suet (they dont use prok suet - if theres such a thing - its clearly labelled as beef). the reason i dont take the same ruling as above, is because in cases of pets, its your duty, but in cases of wild animals its just charity to Allahs creatures. actually putting it like that.. but can you?

[Ahqer]

I have a cat and have been told that it is not allowed to buy tinned cat food for him as the meat inside is haram..instead I should buy halal meat and prepare it for him.? please clarify

"It is Haraam to consume Haraam food. Similarly, it is Haraam to take any benefit from the Haraam food. To buy or sell Haraam food is also Haraam.
Therefore, it is not permissible to buy Haraam food to feed the cat. Halaal meat should be used. (Fataawa Rahimiyyah vol.10 pg.138; Darul Ishaat)"

"and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best "

-Mufti Ebrahim Desai

http://www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=13247

-But I don't know if this means haram in the sense that it's non-zabiha or haram in the sense that it's totally forbidden.

[Abu Hurayrah]

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim

Also

QUESTION:

The farms nowadays practice animal cannibalism- the practice of feeding of animal remains to other animals. http://soundvision.com/info/halalhealthy/cowfeed.asp Is this meat or milk halal?

This is quite widespread, so the question is can we eat meat or chicken from any part of the world? I believe this is a greater issue than the Zabihah problem, wouldn’t you agree? Also can an animal raised this way be used for Qurbani for Eid-ul-Adha?



ANSWER:

In principle, it is not permissible to feed an animal with meat which is not Halaal. However, if an animal is fed with Haraam meat, the animal may be slaughtered for Qurbaani (Eidul Adha). The meat and milk of such an animal will be permissible.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

http://www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=10871

[kingomar291]

Apart from pork (because I can't think of any animals that eat pigs), all carnivorous animals eat "haram" meat - that is, meat that is haram for humans. I don't see cheetahs cutting the jugular of gazelles with a sharp knife before eating, do you?

As long as you feed an animal food that is appropriate for its diet. Not doing this can lead to terrible things like BSE/Mad Cow Disease.

good point Gajji!

[Husain]

The masalah has nothing to do with the animal eating food which is haram for a human. It isn't Mukallaf - ordered to obey laws- thus the laws of halal and haram don't apply to it.

The masalah is based on whether it is permissible to feed someone or something, haraam food.
As eating haram meat is not permissible, thus feeding haraam meat to anyone or anything would also be forbidden.
Yes, if you leave the meat lying somewhere, then the animal eats it - ie. u never fed it, but rather it found the food itself and ate it- then it is permissible.

And Allah Ta'ala knows best

[Silver Sparrow]

Yes, if you leave the meat lying somewhere, then the animal eats it - ie. u never fed it, but rather it found the food itself and ate it- then it is permissible.

what if i left the fat treat in the feeder and the birds just ate it? I do have a veggie treat, but in winter its not suitable cos they digest it too fast and their energy stores run low, which can be dangerous if theyve been eating mostly polyunsaturated fats in the evening, they might get really weakened by morning, which is why.

Hala2go.net is sellin halal suet now, but i bought the other ones ages ago. I'm not *actively* feeding the birds. Like.. the foods there and they just eat it... LOL okay im not convincing you.

so what if you left a coconut for the birds only they didnt eat it and it got mouldy so you threw it behind the lilac tree only a dumb squirrel ate it and it was REALLY mouldy, the coconut, red and green mould, and then the squirrel was never seen again, presumed dead. does that make you a murderer? (I'm actually being serious, cos this has been playing on my conscience) Edit: its okay i saw the squirry today.

[Silver Sparrow]

The masalah is based on whether it is permissible to feed someone or something, haraam food.
As eating haram meat is not permissible, thus feeding haraam meat to anyone or anything would also be forbidden.

Okay so its haram for hanafis at least to eat worms, right? So if a hanafi digs up worms and leaves them in a tub with the sole intent that you want the robin/blackbird/wren to eat said worms, then does that make you a sinner? if you buy mealworms to help struggling breeding birds are you commiting haram for giving them the only food that is suitable for nestlings?

The birds have become quite dependent on the fat treats i put out, many birds which didnt used to come to my garden are now arriving and eating this food. suddenly stopping could be harmful, especially for softbills. so if its a choice between feeding a non zabiha beef suet treat, or letting the birds starve to death, i know which i'd choose, and may Allah forgive me if i'm wrong.

as i mentioned earlier, our local hanafi imam said theres no harm feeding non-zabiha meat to pet cats as long as its not swine, so if that is the ruling you go by, would the same apply to birds, who if anything are more dependent on the supplemental food?

Nother Edit: I'm asking at tariqul islam for the maliki position.

[AbuMohammed]

http://www.muftisays.com/forums/peop...-pet-food.html

Interesting topic.