(Courthouse News) In a legal test case pitting animal rights advocates and far-right politicians against Muslim and Jewish religious leaders seeking to protect halal and kosher meats, a magistrate for Europe’s highest court on Thursday said bans on the ritual slaughtering of animals without first stunning them are unlawful.
This was the advisory opinion issued by Gerard Hogan, an advocate general for the European Court of Justice. Hogan’s legal findings are not binding on the court, but serve as guidance for a panel of judges set to rule on a Belgian law that bans slaughtering animals without first stunning them to ease their suffering. In July, the court heard arguments in the pivotal case. Similar bans are in place in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Slovenia.
