What is the ruling on eating chicken meat in Christian countries when halal meat is available or unavailable?

The permissibility of the People of the Book's slaughtered animals is absolute if the shar'i (religiously prescribed) slaughter (dhabh) has taken place. However, if their method of slaughter is not shar'i, such as stunning or strangulation, then it is not permissible to eat it. If a Muslim knows that the method of slaughter in a country is shar'i, or if shar'i slaughter is the predominant method, then he may eat from it. But if he doubts the method of slaughter, or if it is predominantly the case that they do not slaughter according to shar'i methods, then it is not permissible to eat from it, because the ruling is based on what is predominant. The slaughtered animals of Muslims are preferable, especially if one cannot ascertain that the People of the Book follow the shar'i method of slaughter, even though it is permissible to eat their slaughtered animals.