Muslim and Jewish groups have lost a legal battle in Belgium over animal welfare laws that impede halal and kosher observance.
First, the ban on ritually slaughtering animals without stunning them was opposed by representatives of Belgium’s Muslim, Moroccan and Turkish communities, as well as Muslim and Jewish individuals.
They argued that the law made it “difficult, if not impossible, for Jewish and Muslim believers to slaughter animals in accordance with their religious precepts.”
The European Court of Human Rights has accepted two laws that impede religious freedom, passed separately in the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking regions of Belgium.
But the judges said the intrusion was “commensurate with the objective pursued, which is the protection of animal welfare”.
European law allows restrictions on religious freedom in the name of “public morality” and this extends to animal welfare, the court ruled.
The seven-judge panel also rejected the applicant’s argument that it is “difficult, if not impossible, to obtain meat in accordance with religious beliefs.”
The government said people can still buy their choice of meat from abroad or from Brussels, where less stringent laws are in place.
Muslim and Jewish groups “have not shown that access to such meat has become more difficult,” the court said. Claims that the law was discriminatory also failed.
Judges from the EU’s other court, the Court of Justice, previously sided with Belgian authorities in a 2020 ruling.
One of the claimants, Belgium’s Muslim Executive, is in a separate dispute with ministers after losing its official representative status over allegations of mismanagement.
In 2020, the Belgian government sacked Salah Esharawi as president over his alleged ties to Moroccan intelligence services. A court later ruled that this was an overreach by ministers based on unproven allegations.
Updated: February 13, 2024, 5:40 p.m.