Dutch MP wants ban on ritual slaughter

A Dutch lawmaker has called for an end to the ritual slaughter of animals, saying she means no offence to either the Jewish or Islamic faiths.

MP Marianne Thieme, who is also the head of the Dutch Animal Party, told the German News Agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that the religiously-prescribed method of slaughter is "inhumane" and causes "unnecessary stress" to the animals.

Instead of slaughtering animals while they are alive, Thieme said they should be made unconscious using an electric shock first.

According to Jewish and Muslim rituals, the animal's throat is slit using a single strike, cutting the arteries that connect the brain to the spine. Animals only enter the slaughter area when it is their turn, so they do not witness the killing of other animals.

Although both the Jewish and Islamic faiths advocate slaughtering as the most merciful and least painful method, Thieme said that academic research indicates otherwise.

"After their throats have been cut it usually takes several minutes for them to die, particularly cows. Research demonstrates animals do experience pain after their throats have been cut. They suffer tremendously before dying," Thieme told DPA.

When asked whether it is ironic that an animal rights party could be negotiating ways to kill animals, Thieme replied that eating meat is a reality, so they try to make the suffering as minimal as possible.

Thieme, who has never visited a ritual slaughter house herself, started the initiative with her party when she learned that almost 2 million animals are ritually slaughtered each year.

It was not the first time the Dutch parliament has addressed this issue. Many animal rights groups, along with the Dutch Veterinarians Association, earlier called for a complete ban on ritual slaughter. Muslim and Jewish groups managed block the ban in 2002.

Some 800,000 Muslims and 30,000 Jews live in the Netherlands, out of a total population of 16.4 million. A small percentage of both groups eat meat that is ritually slaughtered.


(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).