(Courthouse News) Europe’s top rights court upheld a ban on killing livestock without first stunning them, finding on Tuesday that animal welfare could trump religious practice.
A mixed-faith group of people and organizations brought the complaint to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing Belgium’s ban on ritual animal slaughter violates their religious freedom.
In 2017, the Belgian region of Flanders mandated that all animals be stunned before slaughter, virtually banning Jewish and Islamic ritual slaughter, which require that animals be in perfect health before they are killed. A second region, Wallonia, followed in 2018.
The laws were pushed by an odd mix of animal rights groups and far-right, anti-Muslim politicians. In opposing the law, Jewish and Muslim leaders also came together in an unusual alliance.
