The ban, which was imposed in the two regions several years ago, was the result of a long push by animal rights activists. But it also raised concerns among Muslim and Jewish community groups that it was a front for nationalist politicians to sow anti-immigrant sentiment. Belgium will hold a general election in June at the same time as the European Parliament elections.
Ben Weitz, Flemish Minister for Animal Welfare, said he was satisfied with the ruling. “It opens the door to a ban on ritual slaughter not only in Brussels but throughout Europe,” Weitz, from the National Conservative Party, said. Stated. He told VRT TV of the New Flemish Union.
EU law stipulates that animals can only be stunned and killed after following specific methods, but also derogates ritual slaughter as long as it is carried out in an abattoir. However, this does not prevent Member States from imposing broader obligations to stun animals.
double jeopardy
Citing animal welfare concerns, the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in 2017 banned the practice of killing animals without pre-stunning them, a practice practiced by Muslims and Jews who follow the law of eating halal and kosher meat. was made illegal. The French-speaking Wallonia region followed in 2018.
In a similar case brought by religious groups in Flanders and Wallonia in 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that member states should be allowed to carry out ritual slaughter for the purpose of promoting animal welfare without infringing the rights of religious groups. The court ruled that the implementation of the law can be prohibited. .
The Strasbourg-based ECHR is an international court charged with interpreting the European Convention on Human Rights, the fundamental treaty for the protection of human rights and political freedoms, on behalf of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe. The CJEU is the court of the European Union.