Bans on ritual slaughter have been proposed or enacted in a number of European countries, from the early 1900s onward, resulting in the prohibition or limiting of traditional shechita (Jewish) and dhabiĥa (Islamic) religious customs. World map showing Europe Political map (neighboring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... Shechita Shechita (Hebrew ) is the ritual slaughter of animals, as prescribed for slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Ritual slaughter practice

Conveyor restraint system for humane ritual slaugher. Used in some US slaughterhouses. (Temple Grandin, 1996)

Jewish and Muslim religious customs require that animals be slaughtered by a single cut to the throat instead of the industry standard method that involves stunning prior to slaughter using a bolt to the head.^[1] This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... A captive bolt pistol (stunner) is a device used for stunning animals prior to slaughter. ...

Temple Grandin, a leading designer of animal handling systems, wrote, on visiting a Kosher slaughterhouse, "I will never forget having nightmares after visiting the now defunct Spencer Foods plant in Spencer, Iowa fifteen years ago. Employees wearing football helmets attached a nose tong to the nose of a writhing beast suspended by a chain wrapped around one back leg. Each terrified animal was forced with an electric prod to run into a small stall which had a slick floor on a forty-five degree angle. This caused the animal to slip and fall so that workers could attach the chain to its rear leg [in order to raise it into the air]. As I watched this nightmare, I thought, 'This should not be happening in a civilized society.' In my diary I wrote, 'If hell exists, I am in it.' I vowed that I would replace the plant from hell with a kinder and gentler system." ^[2] Temple Grandin, one of the more successful adults with autism. ...

Trends

Initial bans on kosher slaughter originated in the early 1900s. First in Switzerland in 1897, in Bavaria in 1930, in Norway and Nazi Germany in the mid-1930s. The motivations of these early bans on kosher slaughter were anti-Semitism.^[3] The circled U indicates that this can of tuna is certified kosher by the Union of Orthodox Congregations. ... // Events and trends Technology First flight by the Wright brothers, December 17, 1903. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... National Socialism redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ...

Debate on the issue has shifted over time such that modern debate focuses primarily on balancing concerns for animal welfare with concerns over limiting freedom of religion.^[4] Additionally, proponents of ritual slaughter argue that their practice is humane and that objections are based on misconceptions.^[4] Animal welfare is the viewpoint that animals, especially those under human care, should not suffer unnecessarily, including where the animals are used for food, work, companionship, or research. ... It has been suggested that Religious toleration be merged into this article or section. ...

Even so, the issue is still complicated by anti-Semitism. Recent proposals originating from animal welfare advocates to ban or maintain existing bans on ritual slaughter, since the measures can be viewed as targeting Jewish or Muslim minorities, have garnered noticeable support from far-right groups with anti-Jewish or anti-Muslim agendas.^[3] Additionally, Spain, in its recent enactment of a ban, has drawn criticism and accusations of veiled anti-Semitism for focusing on religious ritual slaughter for alleged animal welfare concerns in the apparent systematic absence of concern for other similar animal welfare issues.^[3] Lastly, recent debate in Switzerland has been contentious, in part, because of comparisons by a prominent activist between kosher slaughter and the methods used by Nazis in concentration camps.^[4] Far right, extreme right, ultra-right, radical right, or hard right are terms used to discuss the relative position a group or person occupies within a political spectrum. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... A concentration camp is a large detention centre created for political opponents, aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ...

Historic bans

To do: explain the relationship of historical bans to anti-Semitism and other reasons given

Nazi Germany

The former chief rabbi of Norway, Michael Melchior, relates that "one of the first things Nazi Germany forbade was kosher slaughter."^[5] Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished, (in knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools (and among Sefaradim today) the sages... Rabbi Michael Melchior (in Hebrew מיכאל מלכיאור) (born January 31, 1954) is an Israeli politician and Labor-Meimad member of the Knesset. ...

"One of Hitler’s first moves to institutionalize anti -Semitism was to ban all kosher food and anyone caught practicing ritual slaughter was sent straight to a death camp."^[4]

"Significantly, the infamous Nazi "documentary" film Der ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew), designed to sow hatred for Jews, contained a gruesome scene that utterly distorted the way in which animals are killed in accordance with Jewish law, depicting the practice as a barbarous custom in which Jews rejoice at the suffering of animals."^[6]

Active bans

In the past decade, four European countries - Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands - have banned the kosher and halal slaughter of animals bringing the total number of European countries banning the practice to eight.^{[citation needed]} World map showing Europe Political map (neighboring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Finland

"Citing animal cruelty, Finland recently joined Sweden and Spain in passing a modern law which bans ritual slaughter."^[7]

Holland

To do: expand section to detail what the ban was enacted and what it currently covers (i.e. does it cover both kosher and halal or just kosher?)

Holland, like Switzerland, has considered extending the ban in order to prohibit importing kosher products.

Rabbi Melchior, who was serving as Israeli deputy foreign minister at the time of the Dutch debate, also said "they simply don't want foreigners and they don't want Jews."^[3]

Israeli Knesset member Avraham Poraz of the anti-religious Shinui party congratulated Holland on its decision, agreeing that shechitah was cruel.^[3] The modern Knesset building, Israels parliament, in Jerusalem Though similar-sounding, Beit Knesset (בית כנסת) literally means House of Assembly, and refers to a synagogue. ... Shinui (שינוי) (original full name: Tenua le-Shinui ve Yozma and then to Shinui-Mifleget ha-Merkaz) is a Zionist, secular and anti-clerical, free market liberal party in Israel. ...

Melchior responded to Avraham Poraz' voice of support for the ban: "It is certainly infuriating to see a respected Knesset Member plays into the hands of Jewish enemies and thus cause harm to the Jewish community in Europe. The lie that ritual slaughter is cruel simply shows a hatred for Jewish life."^[3]

Norway

"Norway’s ban on ritual slaughter was introduced at the start of World War II." And had its "origins in the blatant anti-Semitism of that time."^[7]

The former chief rabbi of Norway, Michael Melchior, argues that anti-Semitism is one motive for the bans "I won't say this is the only motivation, but it's certainly no coincidence that one of the first things Nazi Germany forbade was kosher slaughter. I also know that during the original debate on this issue in Norway, where shechitah has been banned since 1930, one of the parliamentarians said straight out, 'If they don't like it, let them go live somewhere else.'"^[5] Rabbi Michael Melchior (in Hebrew מיכאל מלכיאור) (born January 31, 1954) is an Israeli politician and Labor-Meimad member of the Knesset. ...

Spain

"While Scandinavian countries that have adopted or maintained the ban have strong records of upholding animal welfare, Switzerland and Spain do not. Spain has yet to adopt a national animal welfare law. And such practices as bull fighting and the summer fiestas where goats and donkeys are thrown from the tops of towers have earned Spain fierce condemnation from animal protection groups worldwide. Where some see animal protection, Rabbi Jeremy Rosen sees nothing of the kind."^[7]

Switzerland

To do: clean-up and integration of "quote farm" and the minor factual contradictions

Initial ban

The Swiss banned kosher slaughter in 1902.^[8]

"In Switzerland, a ban on kosher slaughter has been enforced since 1897, when the people supported this measure through a referendum with clear anti-Semitic undertones. At the time, Jews had recently been granted full civil rights and some Swiss citizens feared an invasion of Jewish migrants from Eastern Europe, who they considered to be unassimilable, foreign and unreliable. By banning the performance of a core Jewish ritual, the Swiss people found a disguised way to limit the immigration of Jews into Switzerland."^[6]

Efforts to lift ban and backlash

There was an anti-Semitic backlash against a proposal to lift the ban in 2002.^[8]

"In 2002, when the Swiss government attempted to lift the century-old ban, animal rights activists, extremist political groups (on the left and the right), and unaffiliated citizens expressed violent opposition. They called shechita practice a "barbaric" and "sanguinary," an "archaic tradition from the time of the ghettos," and asked Jews to either become vegetarian or leave the country."^[6]

Christopher Blocker, a cabinet minister for the right-wing Swiss People's Party who was found guilty of anti-Semitism by a Zurich court in 1999, has supported calls to ban the import of kosher and halal meat.^[9]. The Swiss Animal Association called for a referendum on banning kosher imports.^[3] The Swiss Peoples Party (SVP) also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre German: Schweizerische Volkspartei, French: Union Démocratique du Centre, Italian: Unione Democratica di Centro, Romansh: Partida Populara Svizra) is a political party in Switzerland. ...

Proposals to extend ban to imports

Switzerland have considered extending the ban in order to prohibit importing kosher products.

"A recent survey showed more than three-quarters of the population said they would like to see their government ban even the import of kosher meat. Erwin Kessler, an animal rights activist, has been campaigning vigorously for this. He’s 40,000 short of the 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a referendum to completely ban kosher and halal meat entering Switzerland. Kessler has inflamed the controversy by publicly comparing kosher slaughter to the methods used by Nazis in concentration camps, but denies that his motives are, in fact, anti-semitic."^[7]

"Should a proposed ban on the import of kosher meat be accepted by the Swiss people in 2006, it will effectively force Jews who observe kashrut to abstain from the consumption of meat. Muslims will also be affected by this move."^[6]

United States

Detail of humane head restraint system for kosher slaughter in meat plants. Temple Grandin, 1993

Since 1958, the United States has prohibited shackling and hoisting of cattle without stunning them first. However, an exemption for kosher slaughter was written into the Humane Slaughter Act, because at the time, humane methods for commercial-scale kosher slaughter had not been developed. Zippity do dah, zippity ay. ...

Temple Grandin, who is both an animal rights activist and the leading American designer of commercial slaughterhouses, has outlined techniques for humane ritual slaughter ^[10]. She considers shackling and hoisting of animals for slaughter to be inhumane, and has developed alternative approaches usable in production plants. Grandin has coordinated this with the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative movement in the United States, and in 2000, the Committee voted to accept her approach, ruling that "Now that kosher, humane slaughter using upright pens is both possible and widespread, we find shackling and hoisting to be a violation of Jewish laws forbidding cruelty to animals and requiring that we avoid unnecessary dangers to human life. As the CJLS, then, we rule that shackling and hoisting should be stopped." ^[11] Temple Grandin, one of the more successful adults with autism. ... The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards is the central authority on halakha (Jewish law and tradition) within Conservative Judaism; it is one of the most active and widely know committees on the Conservative movements Rabbinical Assembly. ...

In an investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, undercover video was obtained of Kosher slaughtering practices at a major Kosher slaughterhouse run by Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa.^[12] The methods used there involved clamping the animals into a box which is then inverted for slaughter, followed by partial dismemberment of the animal before it was dead. Those methods have been condemned as unnecessarily cruel by PETA and others, including Grandin and the the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, but are endorsed by the Orthodox Union^[13], which supervises the slaughterhouse. An investigation by the USDA resulted in some minor operational changes. A lawsuit under Iowa law is pending. Grandin's comment was "I thought it was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen. I couldn't believe it. I've been in at least 30 other kosher slaughter plants, and I had never ever seen that kind of procedure done before. ... I've seen kosher slaughter really done right, so the problem here is not kosher slaughter. The problem here is a plant that is doing everything wrong they can do wrong". ^[14] People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals logo People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world. ... Postville is a city located in Allamakee County, Iowa. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... OU logo. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ...

Proposed bans

United Kingdom

The government of the United Kingdom has never introduced or passed any ban on ritual slaughter.

Proposals from animal welfare groups

Note: this section is duplicated from the similar "Modern Debates" subsection -- this is an open problem, see talk page

Since the mid-1980s, proposals have repeatedly surfaced from the animal welfare advocacy groups based on animal cruelty concerns.

Most recently, the debate was reignited by the findings of a 2003 report by the UK government funded Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC). FAWC, which provides advice to the UK government on livestock animal welfare issues, says that the methods employed in Jewish and Islamic ritual slaughter resulted in "severe suffering to animals" and recommended an end to the current exemptions in British law that permit religious slaughter.^[1] Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... An exemption is a rule or law which excepts certain things from another rule or law. ...

FACW concerned was based on their finding that cattle require up to two minutes to bleed to death when ritual slaughter is employed. Dr Judy MacArthur Clark, chairwomen of FACW, explained it to the BBC: "This is a major incision into the animal and to say that it doesn't suffer is quite ridiculous."^[1] Cutting is the separation of a physical object, or a portion of a physical object, into two portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. ...

Compassion in World Farming, a European animal welfare organization, voiced support for FAWC's recommendation: "We believe that the law must be changed to require all animals to be stunned before slaughter."^[1] Compassion In World Farming is a European based Animal Welfare organisation, which has branches in the United Kingdom, China and Ireland. ...

Peter Jinman, the president of the British Veterinary Association said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that veterinarians respected people's religious beliefs but also urged for respecting animals. He continued "We're looking at what is acceptable in the moral and ethical society we live in."^[1] Today, commonly referred to as the Today programme to avoid ambiguity, is BBC Radio 4s long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, which is now broadcast from 6am to 9am from Monday to Friday and from 7am to 9am on Saturdays. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Roy Saich, a spokesman for the Humanists movement, is quoted as saying: Humanism is a broad category of active ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities—particularly rationalism. ...

"There is no imperative for Muslims or Judaists to eat meat produced in this manner [...] There is no reason why they should not simply abstain from eating meat altogether if they do not wish to eat the same meat as the rest of us."^[1]

"But for the most part, British Jews believe their government when it stresses that this ban has been proposed with the sole intention of minimizing animal distress. But that doesn’t mean they agree with it."^[15]

Consistent support of bans from anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic groups

The far-right National Front (NF) party, via offering support to the animal welfare groups in their opposition to the ritual slaughter of animals, was able to target Jews and Muslims.^[16] An official NF publication at the time announced: The name National Front, is used by a number of political parties and coalitions. ...

"All the Jews have to do is stop this barbaric and torturous murder of defenceless animals. When they cease the slaughter the NF will cease its campaign. Until then the NF campaign for animal welfare will continue."^[16]

Similar support was offered to animal welfare groups in the mid-1990s by the successor to the National Front, the British National Party (BNP). A report on anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom from the Israel-based Stephen Roth Institute detailed the familiar tactics of the BNP: The British National Party (BNP) is the most prominent far-right political party in the United Kingdom. ... The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism is a resource for information, provides a forum for academic discussion, and fosters research on issues concerning antisemitic and racist theories and manifestations. ...

"On the far right [...] the move by some activists into so-called animal rights and farmers' campaigns against central government, has led to a small but growing movement against shechita (Jewish ritual slaughter). In March 1998 [...] copies of a new BNP journal, British Countryman, were distributed. This contained an article entitled 'Stop the Real Cruelty,' which stated: 'Hundreds of thousands of animals die in terror and agony by having their throats slashed open without humane stunning. Halal and kosher ritual slaughter of fully conscious animals is a barbaric affront to the British tradition of livestock [...] Ritual slaughter is a deliberate torture!'" ^[17]

Searchlight, an anti-fascist magazine, wrote in February 2003, describing that the BNP again renewed its opposition to Jewish and Islamic ritual slaughter in the wake of the September 11 2001 attacks. Searchlight gave this description of the party: "Today's BNP is as Islamophobic as it is antisemitic." ^[18] Searchlight is a British publication which describes itself as an international anti-fascist magazine, and publishes material critical of far-right political parties. ... Anti-Fascism is a belief and practice of opposing all forms of Fascism. ...

See also

• Shechita
• Dhabiĥa
• Anti-semitism
• Islamophobia
• Animal sacrifice
• Animal welfare

Shechita Shechita (Hebrew ) is the ritual slaughter of animals, as prescribed for slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Photograph of a rally against Islamophobia in Londons Trafalgar Square on February 11, 2006, in the wake of the Muhummad cartoons controversy. ... A sheep is led to the altar, 6th century BC Corinthian fresco. ... Animal welfare is the viewpoint that animals, especially those under human care, should not suffer unnecessarily, including where the animals are used for food, work, companionship, or research. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Halal and Kosher slaughter 'must end', BBC News, June 10 2003, accessed September 18 2006
2. ^ Grandin, Temple (1996). "Thinking in Pictures". Vintage. ISBN 0679772898.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Dickter, Adam, Fear over European kosher bans, World Jewish Review, July 2002.
4. ^ ^a b c d Transcription: Ritual Slaughter Ban, Living on Earth, republished by Vegans Represent June 10 2003, accessed September 18 2006
5. ^ ^a b Europe's new face of anti-Semitism 5 countries now ban production of kosher meat as synagogues burn, boycott of Israel continues, World Net Daily, December 3 2002
6. ^ ^a b c d Anti-Shechita, Modiya, 2004?, accessed September 18 2006
7. ^ ^a b c d Transcription: Ritual Slaughter Ban, Living on Earth, republished by Vegans Represent June 10 2003, accessed September 18 2006
8. ^ ^a b Berlin, Howard, "[http://www.drberlin.com/op-ed/battles.htm "Jews, Muslims on same side of several battles", NewsJournal, March 8, 2004
9. ^ Wistrich, Robert S., "European Anti-Semitism Reinvents Itself", American Jewish Committee, 2005, pg 10
10. ^ Temple Grandin, "Recommended Ritual Slaughter Practices"
11. ^ "Shackling and Hoisting", The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative movement. The Rabbinical Assembly, New York, 2002.
12. ^ PETA investigation of Agriprocessors, with video
13. ^ "Orthodox Union Statement of Rabbis and Certifying Agencies on Recent Publicity on Kosher Slaughter"
14. ^ "Statement of Dr. Temple Grandin, Consultant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Meat Institute"
15. ^
16. ^ ^a b [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/2001/bnp_special/roots/1984.stm British National Party: Under the Skin, 1984 - 1991], BBC Panorama, 2002, accessed September 17 2006
17. ^ 1998 Annual Country Report for the United Kingdom, Stephen Roth Institute, 1999, accessed September 18 2006.
18. ^ The Enduring Prejudice, Searchlight Magazine, February 2003, republished by Stop the BNP, accessed September 18 2006