(Brussels Times) The Flemish minister for animal welfare, Ben Weyts (N-VA), said he is “fundamentally in disagreement” with the opinion handed down yesterday by the advocate-general of the European Court of Justice, declaring a Flemish ban on ritual slaughter illegal.
Flanders has banned all instances of animals being slaughtered without stunning since 2017, including the ritual slaughter carried out in the Jewish and Islamic religions.
Weyts sees it as an issue of animal welfare. The advocate-general sees it as an offence against the derogation allowed in EU law for religious practices.
Whether the opinion will be followed by the full court remains to be seen. The court follows the advocate-general’s opinion in a majority of cases, but in an individual case their agreement cannot be considered a certainty.
