CJEU takes the final decision on the halal slaughterhouses dispute in Belgium
The dispute between the Flemish Region government and the Muslim organization in Belgium has been tranched by the EU's Court of Justice (CJEU). Ritual slaughter without stunning can only take place in approved slaughterhouses, decided the judges, ruling that the law does not limit the religious freedom.
Since 1998, Belgium law stipulated that ritual slaughter could only take place in approved or temporary slaughterhouses. In 2014, the Flemish Region government overhaul the regulation by banning temporary slaughterhouses. The measure was contested by the Muslim organizations in Belgium who were saying that such a decision will limit the amount of halal meat in the period of Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, a holiday celebrated by all the Muslims in the world, informs Portal Spozywczy.
Nevertheless, EUCJ noticed that the new Flemish regulation allows the halal slaughtering ritual to be carried out in a slaughterhouse approved by the competent authority and in which the technical requirements for construction, layout and equipment are complied with. From this perspective, the complaint regarding the limitation of religious freedom was rejected.
It was pointed out that ritual slaughter is subject to the same technical conditions that apply to each slaughtering of an animal within the Union, irrespective of the method used.
The CJEU also emphasized that the issue raised in the lawsuit regarding the lack of "slaughtering capacity" in one of the regions of a member state, related to the increase in demand within a few days in connection with the Feast of Sacrifice, "results from a combination of internal circumstances that can not affect the validity Regulation."
(Photo source: Eat Halal)
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