Historic Legislation Introduced in the Netherlands Prioritizes the Interests of Animals Over Religious Freedom
Animals: Tradition - Philosophy - Religion

FROM

TheirTurn.net
October 2018

Slaughtering animals before stunning them is already illegal in The Netherlands, but an exception is made for halal and kosher slaughterhouses that kill animals while they’re fully conscious. The legislation being championed by MP Ouwehand and her colleagues in the Animal Rights Party would eliminate that exemption.

Esther Ouwehand, a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Netherlands, is championing a bill to ban the slaughter of animals who aren’t first rendered unconscious (stunned). In an interview with TheirTurn, MP Ouwehand says that “all forms of animal slaughter are cruel, but killing animals while they’re fully conscious inflicts an additional level of stress and pain.”

Slaughtering animals before stunning them is already illegal in The Netherlands, but an exception is made for halal and kosher slaughterhouses that kill animals while they’re fully conscious. The legislation being championed by MP Ouwehand and her colleagues in the Animal Rights Party would eliminate that exemption.

According to MP Ouwehand, “When the legislation passes, it will be the first time that a country places the interests of animals over religious freedom.”

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