In 2017, the regional governments of Wallonia and Flanders Slaughtering of animals without stunning is prohibited by decree lawJewish and Muslim communities in Belgium cried out over the impact of the decision to sacrifice. Jewish ritual (kosher) and Muslim (halal). Moshe Kantor, then president of the European Jewish Congress, attributed the decision to World War II. He went so far as to describe it as the biggest attack on the rights of Belgium’s Jewish community since the Nazi occupation during World War II. This Tuesday, European Court of Human Rights It ruled that the decrees did not violate freedom of religion or the prohibition of discrimination.
protection and welfare act The Belgian Animal Law states that animals cannot be sacrificed without being anesthetized or stunned, except in cases of force majeure or necessity. However, the norm allows one exception: the sacrifice required by religious ceremonies. After the State reform in 2014, animal welfare, which until then was the responsibility of the federal State, became a regional responsibility. Two regions, Flanders in July 2017 and Wallonia in October 2018, decided to end this exception, which narrowly remained in place in the capital Brussels, following the regional parliament’s decision to continue the practice.
Jewish and Muslim organizations decided to condemn the decrees before the Belgian Constitutional Court, which sent a series of preliminary questions to the Belgian Constitutional Court in 2019. Court of Justice of the EU He asked whether the massacre carried out without stunning was compatible with the religious freedoms included in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. Following the European court’s decision, the Belgian high court rejected the appeals of the affected plaintiffs.
appeal to Strasbourg
13 Belgian citizens and 7 non-governmental organizations representing the Muslim communities in Belgium, as well as national and local religious authorities of the Turkish and Moroccan Muslim communities in Belgium, Belgian citizens of the Muslim faith and Belgian citizens of the Jewish faith residing in Belgium, Strasbourg, Belgium. also decided to file a lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights. In their lawsuit, they claimed that their religious freedom rights had been violated and that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for Jewish and Muslim believers to slaughter animals or obtain meat from such animals in accordance with the requirements of their religions.
In its decision, the court unanimously states the following: No violation of Article 9 on religious freedom nor Article 14, which prohibits discrimination.. The judges considered that the decrees were adopted after extensive consultations with representatives of various religious groups, veterinarians and animal welfare associations, and after significant efforts to reconcile the goals of promoting animal welfare and religious freedom. They also consider that both Flanders and Wallonia are trying to find a proportionate alternative to the previous stun obligation. “Based on scientific studies and extensive consultations with interested parties, the parliamentary study concluded that a less radical measure would not adequately achieve the aim of reducing harm to the welfare of animals during slaughter.”
Regarding the plaintiffs’ complaint that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain meat compatible with their religious beliefs, the Court of First Instance noted that the Flemish and Walloon Regions did not prohibit the consumption of meat from other regions or countries. that stunning animals before slaughter is not a legal requirement and that the plaintiffs have not proven that access to such meat has become difficult. The court therefore concluded that, in adopting the decrees, “the national authorities did not exceed the margin of appreciation granted to them” and that they took a measure that could be considered “a justified measure in principle”. “Proportional to the goal pursued”.
What’s happening in Spain?
The situation in Spain is different from Belgiumsays Kamel Jalloul, president of the Halal Food and Quality company, which organizes the certification of the majority of foods produced within the scope of this ceremony in Catalonia. ” European Union regulations The rules governing Halal have been adapted in different ways by Member States and are governed here in Spain in the same way as in France, Portugal or Poland. “But in Belgium, they are in line with Germany and the Netherlands, where they are more restrictive.”
In the case of Spain, three forms of sacrifice The number of animals coming to the slaughterhouse goes like this, Jalloul said. The most common is pre-stunning (by electric shock or fixed lead), “but the so-called then striking, This allows the animal to be cut and then stunned three seconds later to avoid suffering during the bleeding process.
But Spanish regulations also say: “In the case of animals subjected to certain methods of sacrifice for religious ceremonies, liability will not apply Animals must be slaughtered after being stunned.” “In this case, the only thing that is prohibited to us by law is consuming the meat of those animals. cannot be marketed under the animal welfare sealBut on the other hand, we can also put the halal label on it,” says the person responsible for the certifications.