Denmark bans religious slaughter

[Youssuf Ramadan]

http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2014/ ... -slaughter

...of animals, that is....

Denmark bans religious slaughter

Denmark's Agriculture and Food Minister Dan Jørgensen has signed into law a regulation that bans religious slaughter of animals.
European Union regulations require stunning before slaughter, but permit member states to allow exemptions for religious slaughter. Under the new law, Danish slaughterhouses will no longer be able to apply for an exemption to pre-stunning.
The move has been opposed by Jewish and Muslim religious leaders in Denmark, who have argued that the ban constitutes an infringement of religious freedom.
However, defending the government's decision, Mr Jørgensen told Denmark's TV2 television that "animal rights come before religion".
Denmark is a major exporter of Halal meat to the Arab world and Halal food is widely available throughout the country. Revelations last year that Danes were being served unlabelled meat from Islamic slaughter at public institutions triggered a nationwide debate on the practice of religious slaughter – and how far Denmark should go to accommodate the estimated 250,000 Muslims living in the country.
According to the World Jewish Congress, the ban will have little practical consequences for Jewish life in Denmark since for the past ten years all kosher meat sold in Denmark has been imported from abroad.
Denmark joins a growing list of countries, including Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland, where religious slaughter is prohibited.
Earlier this year the National Secular Society backed renewed calls from the RSPCA and other animal welfare organisations for an end to the religious exemption that allows farm animals to be slaughtered without prior stunning.
In 2013, the coalition government said it would not remove the exemption despite "strong pressure" from welfare groups, veterinary interests and the public for a prohibition on all slaughter without stunning.

Good stuff IMO....  8-)

[AtDawnTheySquee]

I hear they refuse to serve pork in British schools. I mean, I'm not a fan of pork either but I have every right not to eat it. Just because you dislike the food doesn't mean you have to blow up the kitchen.

[Plu]

I'm in favor. Should do the same thing here.

[SGOS]

Why is it so important for a religion to demand the suffering of animals?  The animals are frightened enough during the slaughter.  Why go out of your may to make it worse?

[Sal1981]

'bout time too.

[GSOgymrat]

The problem appears to be the religious practice doesn't include stunning the animal before killing it. Are family farmers required to stun animals before killing them? Honestly, stunning seems like a minor detail compared to killing. If people were seriously concerned about the suffering of animals they wouldn't kill them.

[SGOS]

The farmers I know, will shoot the animal in the head, or use a sledge hammer.  Cutting their throat and letting hem run around in a panic is unnecessary as part of the slaughter process, and chaotic enough to be a danger.  Causing pain and suffering as part of religious tradition just seems kind of fucked up.  Is that really going to please God in some way?

[ApostateLois]

The problem appears to be the religious practice doesn't include stunning the animal before killing it. Are family farmers required to stun animals before killing them? Honestly, stunning seems like a minor detail compared to killing. If people were seriously concerned about the suffering of animals they wouldn't kill them.

In big slaughterhouses that provide the world with billions of tons of meat, the animals are usually killed without stunning. Cows have their throats cut out so they won't make noise, then are hoisted up and butchered alive. Chickens ostensibly are stunned, but are often still alive as they are dipped into scalding water baths. Humans are cruel to animals on every level. Banning pointless ritual slaughter is a start, but it isn't enough. I realize that animals must be killed for food (we can hardly expect everyone to turn vegan, like PETA insists), but there is no reason why they need to be abused and tortured to death. Animal abuse is a huge problem in factory-farm facilities and is almost never acknowledged, let alone punished. Good for Denmark for banning religious-based animal sacrifice, though. Neither the animals nor the humans have ever benefited from it, and the gods don't seem to care. I guess they're too busy smiting the gays a mighty smote to be bothered anymore with burnt animal bits.

[The Skeletal Atheist]

I've always been a fan of using nitrogen to kill animals myself. It's cheap, can be used to kill large amounts of animals at once, and they don't even know they're dying. About 10 or so minutes after they pass out just process as normal.