EU-DIGEST

Anesthesizing animals prior slaughtering them is mandatory in the Netherlands. An exception, however, was made for halal (Muslim) and kosher (Jewish) slaughtering. In these cases the animals for some obscure religious reason do not have to be anesthesized prior to slaughter.

Both the Muslim and Jewish communities are now protesting the upcoming vote in the Dutch parliament. “I can speak for the Dutch Jewish Community and I think for the wider Jewish world, that this law being voted on in the Netherlands raises grave concerns about infringements on religious freedom”, said Ruben Vis, Secretary-general of the Dutch Jewish umbrella organization

Abdulfatteh Ali-Salah, Director of Halal Correct, a certification Muslim body for Dutch halal meat, said that his organization and Muslims in general will protest if the law passes. .

A member of the Animal Party in the Netherlands, in response to the statements made by the Muslim and Jewish organizations said,  " maybe the next time one of them goes to the dentist they should opt-out for having an anesthesia given to them, just to experience a little of the pain they are inflicting on animals during their religious rituals"..  

EU-Digest

Muslim and Jewish groups are preparing to challenge animal-rights campaigners next year over a European Union measure that would require halal and kosher meat products to carry a label saying the animals were not stunned before slaughter.

Animal-welfare legislation in Europe requires that abattoirs stun all animals prior to slaughter unless they are being ritually killed according to the practices of a non-Christian religion.

The move to require halal and kosher meat producers to provide consumers with more information on the packaging of their products has enraged Jewish and Muslim organisations, with the latter claiming that the move has little to do with animal welfare but, rather, reflects a pan-European bias against Islam.

For more: New EU labels for halal and kosher foods spark anger - The National