Denmark Bans Halal And Kosher Slaughter-Cruel Religious Killers Infuriated
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Denmark’s government has brought in a ban on the religious slaughter of animals for the production of halal and kosher meat, after years of campaigning from welfare activists.
The change to the law, announced last week and effective as of yesterday, has been called “anti-Semitism” by Jewish leaders and “a clear interference in religious freedom” by the non-profit group Danish Halal.
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.
Yet defending his government’s decision to remove this exemption, the minister for agriculture and food Dan Jørgensen told Denmark’s TV2 that “animal rights come before religion”.
Commenting on the change, Israel’s deputy minister of religious services Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan told the Jewish Daily Forward: “European anti-Semitism is showing its true colours across Europe, and is even intensifying in the government institutions.”
Al Jazeera quoted the monitoring group Danish Halal, which launched a petition against the ban, as saying it was “a clear interference in religious freedom limiting the rights of Muslims and Jews to practice their religion in Denmark”.
Go Denmark!!! It’s about time that this insidious slaughter was banned. Now look, I am a meat eater so, you may ask, what right have I to support such a ban. After all my bacon sandwich is a dead pig – or a bit of a dead pig – so what’s the difference?
The difference is this.
In a well maintained and regulated slaughter house the animals are stunned into unconsciousness. Not exactly a beautiful thing to be doing I grant you, but they are unconscious and, basically, they never wake up as they are then slaughtered for human consumption including my bacon sandwiches.
I’m sure it is small consolation to the animals that they are rendered unconscious before they are slaughtered but, at least, they suffer neither pain nor fear.
With both Kosher and halal slaughter they feel both pain and what must be almost indescribable fear.
If you are Jewish or Muslim you will, I suspect, be somewhat alarmed at the action of Denmark. I can only say this to you. Your religion doesn’t matter. If you don’t like anyone saying that to you well – tough. It doesn’t. Clearly it does to you as you happen to be Jewish or Muslim but, again, tough.
You and your faith have no rights what so ever with regard to slaughtering animals in such a barbaric way.
I’m fully aware that vegetarians and vegans would consider me barbaric as I eat meat – and I fully accept their right to view me in this way but, at least, the meat I eat hasn’t died in pain and fear.
So, Jews and Muslims? I can only hope that Britain and the rest of the world follow suit and ban your barbaric method of slaughter.
The only argument in favour of it is your religious beliefs and, frankly, your religions, at least in respect of this, DO NOT COUNT.
If anyone would like to argue a case for ‘religious freedom’ in terms of animal slaughter then I can only ask you to watch this following video.
If you still think respecting Judaism and Islam is more important then, in my opinion, you are sick in the head.
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And I should point out that nearly all the American Jews I know, and I know quite a few being one myself, no more approve of this ancient barbarism or practice these odd commandments than American Catholics avoid birth control.
Not one ever to shy away from offending anyone’s religion, I will venture to add that I don’t consider many Jewish sects to be as Jewish as some Christians are, their literature and practices often being far, far newer. But hey – I’m anti-religious in a very broad spectrum, high bandwidth sort of fashion. It all smells like bullshit to me.
I’ve seen so many horrifying videos of US slaughterhouses to make me suspicious of all of them. Of course here in the US, we pass laws making it illegal to take video of the gruesome practices instead of doing anything about it. Inspections would of course be a terrible infringement on our corporate rights. Sadly, in some parts of the world animal cruelty is far worse than I want to think about.
Correct again Glenn. Non-halal and non-kosher slaughter houses have been found behaving despicably to the animals too. Tighter regulations are needed throughout the industry.
I can’t bring myself to watch those videos any more. I can’t get them out of my mind when I do.
A Danish slaughterhouse is sort of open to the puplic. It is normal for a school class to get a really good look. Before discussing ethics, biology, reproduction and a lot more. I remember as a kid it was a lot easier to take about animal welfare after visiting a pig slaughter house than it was for some of my classmates to eat the hotdogs provided at that school trip.
That is interesting. I didn’t know their slaughterhouses were open to the public. Thanks for sharing.
It is a barbaric practice Neil, and Denmark’s ban couldn’t come too soon. I hope other nations follow suit.
So do I old bean but breath holding is not advisable. Most western nations seem so petrified of offending someone’s faith they dare not.
Perhaps Jewish people and Muslims can take it into their own hands and condemn this barbarism in the name of their respective faiths?
Doubtful but we can only live in hope eh?
With respect to the Muslims and Jews who practice such things, the slaughter of pigs is moot, I should think, but I’m tempted to say that Animals Lives Matter. I’d say All lives Matter but that seems to be a hot button these days to anyone but a Buddhist.
The practice of slaughtering with a sharp knife is sold as being, or at least having been more humane than whatever else was being practiced in the Bronze age of the Middle East. It was designed to minimize pain, I’m told. Perhaps it was once the least of several evils, but the poet James R. Lowell was right for writing
“New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,
They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.”
I think it’s part of the weakness of Religious thought ( yes I know that’s a contradiction) to demand: “always the old way, never look for better” We have better ways to treat animals today, thanks to people like Temple Grandin, thanks to the growth of respect for all living things and especially those living things we depend on for our existence.
To those who consider it anti-Semitic can either explain to me why God will kill you for putting cheese on your hamburger or shave your sideburns or go eat Tofu for all I care. Onward and upward!
Excellent Glenn. I couldn’t have put it better myself. No, really, I couldn’t!
Animals in the wild are no strangers to fear and pain. The lives of most wild animals is nasty, brutish and short. Nature is simply heartless. We’re supposed to be above such things, or at least so we flatter our miserable selves in believing.
If I had the moral courage I wish I had and lacked the fondness for Bacon and Bratwurst, I would swear off meat. At least I try not to eat mammals for the most part, but to give a domestic animal a shorter but happier life seems a good compromise and not hard to do seeing as cattle are unaware of the brevity of life and unable to contemplate the future or worry about it.
There is a movement in the US to do just this, to keep animals unaware and unafraid. I mentioned Temple Grandin who has been very influential, but we keep hearing about houses of horror where the operators don’t want to spend a dime if they don’t have to — and we keep hearing about politicians protecting the mindless brutality of Capitalists who care less than not at all about anything resembling decency and humanity and compassion. The kind of business “Where only the ledger lives” as Tennyson once quipped.
I used to think that putting animals in zoos was terribly unkind, until I read the Life of Pi which explained, in great detail, the benefits to being in a zoo, and they are legion. They don’t have to hunt for food or avoid predators. They are protected and cared for all their life. Works for me…