Dispute on Ritual Slaughter

2014

Ritual slaughter issues have been broadly discussed in virtually all West European countries, where Jewish and/or Islamic minorities have marked their presence. In most cases, the main dimension of the public debate on this matter has concerned the collision between broadly defined religious freedom and the principles of animal protection. Recently, the discussion on ritual slaughtering has also reached Poland, where it has taken a specific form in comparison with Western countries. The distinctive character of the Polish case may be proven, inter alia, by the marginal socio-political relevance of Jewish and Islamic minorities in Poland and focus on the political and economic aspects of the issue. In the presented analysis, the main stress has been placed on the interpretation of religious freedom in this regard, i.e. its conditions and constraints, the conditions of the implementation of European law and the arguments used in the debate. Religious communities’ activities have been confronted with the political and economic aspects of the discussion, which are aimed at investigating the degree of the “politicisation” and “economisation” of the issues under scrutiny.

Estudios Eclesiásticos. Revista de investigación e información teológica y canónica

When regulating ritual slaughter, we need to take into consideration issues related both to the protection of freedom of conscience and religion, the freedom of business activity, and the humane treatment of animals. The economic arguments have an influence on the way ritual slaughter is regulated and generally lead to departing from the original religious purpose of such legal regulations, in favour of protecting economic interests.

The paper discusses the problem of the legal duty to stun animals when slaughtered in the context of specific religious rites to kill animals practiced by Jewish and Muslim communities. After Polish law had abolished exception from mandatory stunning existing for ritual methods of killing farm animals the exceptionless duty of stunning animals when killed has been reviewed by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal which resolved that it violates the constitutional freedom of religious practices. The reasoning of the Tribunal as well as some critical comments over the judgment are presented and critically appraised. The authors advocate the view that the deliberate infliction of pain or suffering on sentient creatures is a legitimate ground to limit the freedom to practice religious beliefs.

Journal of Religion in Europe, 2015

In 2011, the Dutch House of Representatives voted for the first time in its history for banning the practice of unstunned ritual slaughter in accordance to Jewish and Islamic rites. How should this remarkable vote be understood? In order to answer this question, a critical discourse analysis has been carried out. Three discourses are discerned in the debate: ‘unstunned ritual slaughter as an outdated practice,’ ‘ritual slaughter as a form of ritual torture’ and ‘unstunned ritual slaughter as a legitimate religious practice.’ The growing parliamentary support for the first two mentioned discourses is related to recent changes in the Dutch political landscape. In a wider context, it is related to a shift in the national self-conception of the Netherlands and, linked to that, to a change in the perceived position of traditional religious minorities within Dutch society in the aftermath of 9/11 and the ‘Fortuyn revolt.’

Both the Muslim and Jewish faiths have specific requirements for the slaughter of religiously acceptable animals. The major difference from the general practices in most countries is that the animals are not stunned prior to slaughter. It is important that meat scientists understand the implications of these differences. They need to critically consider the scientific information available about the effects of different slaughter practices on animals before reaching any judgements about the appropriateness of a particular form of slaughter. It is also important that they understand the importance of these practices to the people who follow these religious codes. We hope to discuss some information that may be useful in evaluating religious slaughter. The Jewish dietary code is described in the original five books of the Holy Scriptures. The Muslim code is found in the Quran. Both codes represented major advancements in the respect for animals and their proper handling in ancient times. For example, the Jewish code specifically forbid the use of limbs torn from live animals and the slaughter of both a mother animal and her children on the same day. One way to view the rather comprehensive legal system of the Jewish faith is spelled out in the paragraphs below. We feel this explanation may help others understand the degree of significance of these religious practices to those of the Jewish faith (Grunfeld, 1972). "And ye shall be men of holy calling unto Me, and ye shall not eat any meat that is torn in the field" (Exodus XXII:30) Holiness or selfsanctification is a moral term; it is identical with...moral freedom or moral autonomy. Its aim is the complete selfmastery of man. "To the superficial observer it seems that men who do not obey the law are freer than law-abiding men, because they can follow their own inclinations. In reality, however, such men are subject to the most cruel bondage; they are slaves of their own instincts, impulses and desires. The first step towards emancipation from the tyranny of animal inclinations in man is, therefore, a voluntary submission to the moral law. The constraint of law is the beginning of human freedom....Thus the fundamental idea of Jewish ethics, holiness, is inseparably connected with the idea of Law; and >Religious slaughter and animal welfare:a discussion for meat...

BETWEEN RITUAL SLAUGHTER AND A SACRED COW, 2016

This article deals with relations between the established law and ethical values resulting from tradition in a culturally changing reality. In a world where more and more people are living in multicultural environments, the key element of social consensus is the relationship between values that are important for particular ethnic and religious groups and the law established in public society. Culture is a factor shaping the legal system as well as controlling behaviors assessed normatively and often diversely in different religious or ethnic groups. This text presents some theoretical approaches to the concept of law and the culture that builds it. The author indicates which of them are the closest to reaching a social consensus. The analyzed issue in this article is illustrated through the problem of differing approaches to animals and their slaughter and through the statements of both rabbi and imam religious leaders of communities engaged in ritual slaughter, living in Poland.

Derecho Animal. Forum of Animal Law Studies

One of the more intractable issues associated with animal law and ethics concerns responsibly regulating the slaughter of animals according to the requirements of the Jewish religious tradition and some interpretations of the Islamic religious tradition. Most Western liberal democratic societies require animals to be stunned before slaughter to ensure they are insensible when killed. However, the Jewish tradition and many interpretations of the Islamic tradition prohibit pre-slaughter stunning. In these traditions, animals are killed according to specific religious rituals that involve cutting the animal's throat and permitting it to exsanguinate without prior stunning. These requirements therefore come into direct conflict with Statutes, Codes and Regulations of many Western countries intending to give expression to animal welfare policies by requiring pre-slaughter stunning. However, such practices are also protected by international and domestic human rights instruments guaranteeing freedom of religious practice and expression. Recent decisions of European Courts demonstrate the difficulties that arise when countries attempt to regulate this conflict. In exploring several of these recent decisions, this article intends to outline the parameters of this conflict and to suggest a potential way forward to responsible regulation of such practices.

Journal of Law and Religion, 2006

The statutory prohibition against ritual slaughter, which does not stun the animal prior to slaughter, as required in most Western nations, poses a significant challenge for the international right to freedom of religion or belief in European nation-states. This prohibition is important not only in Europe, or because of the prohibition itself, but because it implicates the legal status of two minority religious communities in these nation-states, those of Judaism and Islam. Some animal rights advocates have objected to ritual slaughter without stunning because, in their view, it causes needless suffering by the animal, and they have been successful in getting their views enacted into law in a number of European countries. Indeed, some countries prohibit ritual slaughtering altogether, as we shall discuss below. This paper argues that the right to freedom of religion or belief requires nation-states to respect the rights of religious minorities that engage in ritual slaughter, even i...

Veredas do Direito – Direito Ambiental e Desenvolvimento Sustentável, 2022

This article aims to analyze, from the perspective of Neil MacCormick's argumentative theory, the decision of Brazil's Federal Supreme Court in the Extraordinary Appeal No 494.601/2019-RS, which established the thesis, with general repercussion, of the constitutionality of the law of animal protection which, with the purpose of safeguarding religious freedom as a cultural right of religious groups of African origin, allowed animal sacrifice in liturgical acts. The investigated hypothesis also addressed the fundamental right to religious freedom and constitutional protection of the environment, in terms of forbidding cruel treatment of animals. After classifying decision arguments into linguistic, systemic, and teleological, we conclude that, from a general perspective, the decision met the criteria of universality, consistency and coherence, and can be considered a correct solution for the Democratic State of Law, in the terms proposed by MacCormick. The research carried out used national and foreign doctrine as a source, as well as national legislation and jurisprudence, analyzed by the deductive and inductive methods, respectively.