In Belgium, the ban on slaughtering animals without prior stunning maintained

Whatever their religious traditions, Belgians will have to continue to stun sheep, cows or pigs before slaughtering them. This obligation, valid since 2019 in the Walloon and Flemish regions, had been the subject of an appeal to the Constitutional Court of Belgium which finally rejected them on Thursday, reports
the belgian press.

Islamic religious associations and personalities from the Jewish community had tried to overturn the decrees considering that there was a violation of freedom of religion. In fact, in both religions, during ritual slaughter, the animal must be intact before killing and therefore cannot be stunned.

“Animal welfare” superior to religious freedom

In its judgment, the Court held that the slaughter with stunning requirement indeed restricted the religious freedom of Jewish and Islamic believers, but it also argued that “the protection of the welfare of animals as human beings sensitive constitutes a legitimate objective of general interest ”.

This is because when they are slaughtered for consumption, animals are killed by cutting the blood vessels in the neck or thorax. But the animal does not die instantly. There is a certain amount of time first, during which his blood is drained, before he is unconscious and finally dies. This period lasts about 20 seconds in sheep and pigs and up to two minutes in cows. A time during which the animal feels pain, fear and stress. The stunning process reduces these effects by rendering the animal unconscious before bleeding.

“Freedom of thought, conscience and religion must be interpreted in the light of current living conditions and the conceptions prevailing today in democratic states”, adds the Constitutional Court in its communication. However, the protection of animal welfare constitutes “an ethical value to which it is attached increased importance in Belgian society, as well as in other contemporary societies”, according to the Court.

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