ENOUGH No More Jews in Belgium
iStock.com/Alexandros Michailidis
The EU’s highest court upholds Belgian bans on kosher and halal slaughter practices.
December 28, 2020
The European Court of Justice (ecj) the European Union’s highest court upheld Belgium’s ban on slaughtering animals without first stunning them. This December 17 ruling upholds the prohibition on kosher and halal slaughter in Belgium in the name of “animal welfare” and clears a path for additional bans across Europe.
In 2019, two of Belgium’s three states banned the slaughter of animals without first stunning them, despite objections from Jewish and Muslim community leaders. Several groups filed a petition arguing that the bans illegally limit religious freedom. However the ecj’s decision on Thursday declared that these bans do not violate the EU’s principles on freedom of worship