Ostensibly, the Dutch government has just banned kosher and halal slaughter: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/06/201162945027320392.html . However, the law is that animals must be stunned before slaughter. Most halal meat in the UK is stunned - see this report, for instance: http://www.themeatsite.com/meatnews/13683/stunning-use-under-halal-kosher-practices-revealed - and most Islamic scholars would agree that the practice is perfectly legitimate for Muslims; see, for instance, this page: http://ehalal.org/Stunning.html . I assume practices in Holland are similar to those in the UK, or if not, they could soon be brought in line.
Kosher slaughter seems to be another story, judging by the Meat Site report. I can't find anything decent online about it, but there may be a problem there. If this is motivated by Islamophobia - I don't know, but the current political climate suggests that it may be - then they seem to have scored an own goal.
Robert, you may find my posts on this issue of some interest:
ReplyDeletehttp://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2010/09/amazing-how-slow-national-press-can-be.html
I'm well aware there's a problem with the Press; I'm a beekeeper, and it's routine for every report on bees to be wrong. I think the problem is that reporters are under too much pressure these days to have time to research their own stories. The result is that they copy, often cut and paste, other peoples', without checking.
ReplyDelete