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Historic Legislation Prioritizes the Interests of Animals Over Religious Freedom

October 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment


The News

Esther Ouwehand, a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Netherlands, is championing a bill to ban the slaughter of animals who aren’t first rendered unconscious (stunned). In an interview with TheirTurn, MP Ouwehand says that “all forms of animal slaughter are cruel, but killing animals while they’re fully conscious inflicts an additional level of stress and pain.”

Slaughtering animals before stunning them is already illegal in The Netherlands, but an exception is made for halal and kosher slaughterhouses that kill animals while they’re fully conscious.  The legislation being championed by MP Ouwehand and her colleagues in the Animal Rights Party would eliminate that exemption.

According to MP Ouwehand, “When the legislation passes, it will be the first time that a country places the interests of animals over religious freedom.”


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Denmark Says “Animal Rights Come Before Religion”

February 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment


The News

Denmark has banned kosher and halal slaughter. According to British newspaper The Independent, “European regulations require animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered, but grants exemptions on religious grounds. For meat to be considered kosher under Jewish law or halal under Islamic law, the animal must be conscious when killed.” Muslim and Jewish leaders are claiming discrimination, but the Danish government is defending the law, stating “animal rights come before religion.”

slaughter

Photo from The Independent

News & Opinion

In spite of worldwide outrage, the Danish government didn’t intervene in February when the Copenhagen Zoo killed a healthy young giraffe to prevent inbreeding and fed him to the lions. In addition, the Danish government continues to allow the brutal slaughter of hundreds of pilot whales each year in the Faroe Islands. Like every other country that claims to care for its animals while condoning and defending violence toward them, Denmark is being hypocritical. And the government should be held accountable until all forms of animal abuse are abolished. But that shouldn’t stop us from celebrating and promoting their historic declaration that “animal rights come before religion.”


Filed under: Food, Victories
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