Dutch Jews, Muslims appeal ritual slaughter plan

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110616/lf_afp/netherlandspoliticsanimalsreligion_20110616173823;_ylt=AmsYLbI1cKgsmY1YN6aWYhj2_sEF;_ylu=X3oDMTNuYmg5bHEzBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDExMDYxNi9uZXRoZXJsYW5kc3BvbGl0aWNzYW5pbWFsc3JlbGlnaW9uBGNjb2RlA2dtcGFsbHBvb2wEY3BvcwM5BHBvcwM5BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDZHV0Y2hqZXdzbXVz

Thu Jun 16, 1:38 pm ET

THE HAGUE (AFP) – Jewish and Muslim representatives Thursday appealed to Dutch lawmakers not to enforce plans requiring animals to be stunned before halaal and kosher slaughtering rituals.

"We are against any form of stunning because it's against our religion," Yusuf Altuntas, president of the CMO -- an organisation that links the Muslim community with the Dutch government -- told a parliamentary commission.

"One of the first measures taken during the Occupation (during World War II) was the closing of kosher abattoirs," Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs added during the debate in The Hague.

Dutch law required animals to be stunned before being slaughtered but made an exception for ritual halaal and kosher slaughters.

The country's Party for Animals (PvdD) which holds two seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament, has submitted a proposal, if implemented, would see this exception abolished.

Dutch media widely reported that the PvdD's proposal was expected to get a majority nod from parliamentarians, but a timeframe was not given.

"The animals suffer more and are more distressed if they are not stunned," Esther Ouwehand, a PvdD parliamentarian told AFP.

"By getting this modification in the law, we hope to inspire other countries," she added, pointing out that in Norway and Sweden these measures had already been taken.

More than two million animals -- mainly sheep and chickens -- were being subjected to ritual slaughter every year in the Netherlands, the PvdD added.

Abdelfattah Ali-Salah, director of Halal Correct, the organisation which issues halaal certificates in the country, however called the figure "inexact".

He said some 250,000 animals were slaughtered yearly without being stunned beforehand.

Jewish and Muslim representatives Thursday insisted ritual slaughter respected the animals' welfare, notably restriction methods used to limit suffering and that those slaughtering received expert training.

"If we no longer have people who can do ritual slaughter in the Netherlands, we will stop eating meat," Chief Rabbi Jacobs said.

They did however offer to implement some measures which they said would ease the animals' suffering, especially better controls in abattoirs where ritual slaughters were performed and an improvement in conditions under which animals were being transported.

Several organisations in France, among them the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, in January launched a poster campaign, reporting conditions in which animals were killed during ritual slaughter.

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Party for Animals?

[sandinista! 1,816]

Party for Animals?

with two seats in parliament, no less.

i appreciate the the rabbi jacobs' comments in the article, i think they're spot on.

i love animals, and care sincerely about their humane treatment, and have a religious obligation to do so. i believe it's even possible to do so while reconciling the killing and eating of said animals. so there. and the brigitte bardot foundation, ugh. it's sad the way she turned out to be such a nasty, bigoted old bag.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

with two seats in parliament, no less.

i appreciate the the rabbi jacobs' comments in the article, i think they're spot on.

i love animals, and care sincerely about their humane treatment, and have a religious obligation to do so. i believe it's even possible to do so while reconciling the killing and eating of said animals. so there. and the brigitte bardot foundation, ugh. it's sad the way she turned out to be such a nasty, bigoted old bag.

Ya the two comments/quotes of the Rabbi in that article were a real bang up job on his part. First off he he compared a Dutch animal rights group to Hitlers NAZI's when they occupied the Netherlands, and then he professed all Jews in the Netherlands would become vegetarians.

What's ironic is that one of the biggest supporters of that animal rights party is the famous Dutch writer and artist Jan Wolkers. The same Jan Wolkers who created a large outdoor sculpture in Amsterdam called "Auschwitz" in tribute to the Dutch victims of the NAZI's.

Edited June 17, 2011 by Why_Me

[sandinista! 1,816]

since there's an utter lack of scientific proof that stunning animals is in any way more humane, (indeed the humane society says it's ineffective and more inhumane to mercilessly bonk an animal on the head before killing it)it's not completely off-base to suspect anti-semitic and anti-muslim bigotry to be behind the squawkings of the the dutch animal rights party with this bill. nor is it off-base to assert that people who care whether their food is kosher or halal will not eat meat if there is no kosher or halal meat to buy anymore. it's what my family does, and what a whole lot of other families i know do, who only consume kosher or halal. or we eat fish.

i didn't know who jan wolkers was prior though. that is a beautiful and moving piece, with the broken mirrors. but i fail to see what an artist and animal rights activist who has been dead for 4 years has to do with this very questionable bill currently in the dutch parliament.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

since there's an utter lack of scientific proof that stunning animals is in any way more humane, (indeed the humane society says it's ineffective and more inhumane to mercilessly bonk an animal on the head before killing it)it's not completely off-base to suspect anti-semitic and anti-muslim bigotry to be behind the squawkings of the the dutch animal rights party with this bill. nor is it off-base to assert that people who care whether their food is kosher or halal will not eat meat if there is no kosher or halal meat to buy anymore. it's what my family does, and what a whole lot of other families i know do, who only consume kosher or halal. or we eat fish.

i didn't know who jan wolkers was prior though. that is a beautiful and moving piece, with the broken mirrors. but i fail to see what an artist and animal rights activist who has been dead for 4 years has to do with this very questionable bill currently in the dutch parliament.

I stand corrected, and I doubt this bill has much to do with animal rights as much as it has to do with putting it to Jews and Muslims.

That animal rights group has some shady backers including Holocaust deniers. You can connect the dots on this one.

http://www.alfredvierling.com/?cat=49

Alfred Vierling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gudrun_Burwitz

Gudrun Burwitz

This last one is dead, but she was tight with the first two peeps listed above. Both of which have ties to Geert Wilders party in one form or another.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentine_Rost_van_Tonningen

Florentine Rost van Tonningen