One of Europe's first countries to allow Jews to practice their religion openly may soon pass a law banning centuries-old Jewish and Muslim traditions on the ritual slaughter of animals.
In the Netherlands, an unlikely alliance of an animal rights party and the xenophobic Freedom Party is spearheading support for the ban on kosher and halal slaughter methods that critics say inflict unacceptable suffering on animals.
The far right's embrace of the bill, which is expected to go to a parliamentary vote this month, is based mostly on its strident hostility toward the Dutch Muslim population. The Party of the Animals, the world's first such party to be elected to parliament, says humane treatment of animals trumps traditions of tolerance.
Jewish and Muslim groups call the initiative an affront to freedom of religion.
"I can speak for the Dutch Jewish Community, and I think for the wider Jewish world, that this law raises grave concerns about infringements on religious freedom," said Ruben Vis, spokesman for the Netherlands' CJO, an umbrella of Jewish organizations.
Abdulfatteh Ali-Salah, director of Halal Correct, a certification body for Dutch halal meat, said he felt the debate made Muslims in the Netherlands feel Dutch society is more interested in animal welfare than fair treatment of its Muslim citizens.
"If the law goes through now there's nothing else to do but protest," he said. "And that's what we'll do."
As in most western countries, Dutch law dictates that butchers must stun livestock -- render it unconscious -- before it can be slaughtered, to minimize the animals' pain and fear. But an exception is made for meat that must be prepared under ancient Jewish and Muslim dietary laws and practices. These demand that animals be slaughtered while still awake, by swiftly cutting the main arteries of their necks with razor-sharp knives.
Most Dutch favor a ban, but many centrist parties feel the issue is a distraction from the more serious issue of abuses at regular slaughterhouses. One of the two parties in the Cabinet, the Christian Democrats, opposes the law out of fear for damage to the country's international image as a haven of tolerance for religious minorities. The other, the pro-business VVD Party, has yet to say which way it will vote.
If the Netherlands does outlaw procedures that make meat kosher for Jews or halal for Muslims, it will be the first country outside New Zealand to do so in recent years. It will join the Scandinavian, Baltic countries and Switzerland, whose bans are mostly traceable to pre-World War II anti-Semitism.
Holland has proud traditions of tolerance and was one of the first countries in Europe to allow Jews to live openly with their religion in the 17th century.
After years of campaigning unsuccessfully, the Party for the Animals won a seat in parliament in 2006, the first time an animal rights party had entered a national parliament. Around the same time, the anti-Islam Freedom Party of maverick politician Geert Wilders was gaining strength. It finished third in national elections last year on an anti-immigration platform.
The Muslim population, built on a wave of migration in the 1990s, is now about 1 million in a country of 16 million. Dutch Jews number an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 after 70 percent of their community died in Nazi concentration camps.
The two political parties pushing hardest for the ban make for an odd couple, falling at opposite ends of the political spectrum.
"Religious freedom isn't unlimited," said Party for the Animals leader Marianne Thieme in an interview. She said the law will be "good news for the 2 million animals that are slaughtered (without stunning) each year in our country. It's not a small amount."
Wilders first brought the issue forward in 2007, when he heard that halal meat was being served at a public school in Amsterdam. "Muslims at our schools must adjust to Dutch norms and values and not the other way around," he wrote in a letter questioning government policy.
Wilders and the Freedom Party did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
The U.S.-based Simon Wiesenthal Center and European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor have both spoken out against the proposed ban.
"What's worse is that there is no conclusive scientific evidence that slaughter without stunning is more harmful or painful for animals," Vis of the CJO said.
Science surrounding animal slaughter is contentious. A 2009 study in New Zealand that monitored calf brain waves during ritual slaughter concluded the animals probably were aware of their pain. That led the country to ban the practice in 2010.
However, noted American animal welfare expert Temple Grandin of Colorado State University has criticized flaws in the New Zealand study, remarking in particular that the knife used was probably too short.
"The special long knife used in kosher slaughter is important," she wrote in a paper published on her website. In her experience "when the knife is used correctly on adult cattle, there was little or no behavioral reaction," she wrote -- indicating that the animals did not show signs of suffering before falling unconscious.
The Royal Dutch Veterinary Association has come out in favor of banning the practice.
The organization said in a position statement it believes that during "slaughter of cattle while conscious, and to a lesser extent that of sheep, the animals' well-being is unacceptably damaged."
Scientists, animal rights groups and religious groups disagree about the amount of pain and suffering animals experience during slaughter under regular conditions -- though all say violations of current law are widespread.
Ali-Salah predicted an outright ban would fail not only due to Dutch domestic political considerations, but also because it is not workable in practice.
"How are one million people going to obtain halal meat from a new source?" he said. "They are certainty not going to stop eating meat overnight."
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/08/netherlands-considers-banning-religious-animal-slaughter
----------------------------------------------------------
Islamic vs. Western slaughter
(Scientific results)
Al Shaddad Bin Aous has quoted this tradition of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) "God calls for mercy in everything, so be merciful when you kill and when you slaughter, sharpen your blade to relieve its pain".
Many allegations have been made that Islamic slaughter is not humane to animals. However, Professor Schultz and his colleague Dr. Hazim of the Hanover University, Germany, proved through an experiment, using an Electro encephalograph (EEG) and Electro Cardiogram (ECG) that *Islamic slaughter is THE humane method of slaughter* and captive bolt stunning, practiced by the Western method, causes severe pain to the animal. The results surprised many.
Experimental Details:
1. Several electrodes were surgically implanted at various points of the skull of all animals, touching the surface of the brain.
2. The animals were allowed to recover for several weeks.
3. Some animals were slaughtered by making a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck cutting the jugular Veins and carotid Arteries of both sides; as also the trachea and esophagus-Halal Method.
4. Some animals were stunned using a captive bolt pistol - humane slaughter by the western method.
5. During the experiment, EEG and ECG were recorded on all animals to record the condition of the brain and heart during the course of slaughter and stunning Results and Discussion:
I. Islamic method
1. The first three seconds from the time of Islamic slaughter as recorded on the EEG did not show any change from the graph before slaughter, thus indicating that the animal did not feel any pain during or immediately after the incision.
2. For the following 3 seconds, the EEG recorded a condition of deep sleep - unconsciousness. This is due to a large quantity of blood gushing out from the body.
3. After the above mentioned 6 seconds, the EEG recorded zero level, showing no feeling of pain at all.
4. As the brain message ( EEG ) dropped to zero level, the heart was still pounding and the body convulsing vigorously (a reflex action of the spinal cord) driving maximum blood from the body: resulting in hygienic meat for the consumer.
II Western method by C.B.P. Stunning
1. The animals were apparently unconscious soon after stunning.
2. EEG showed severe pain immediately after stunning.
3. The hearts of the animal stunned by C.B.P. stopped beating earlier as compared to those of the animals slaughtered according to the Halal method resulting in the retention of more blood in the meat. This in turn is unhygienic for the consumer.
Ashraf Dabayeh
Dept. of Civil Eng. (Ext. 3844)
University of Waterloo
"And among His (God's) Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors. Surely, in that are signs for people of sound knowledge." {The Qur'an 30:22}
----------------------------------------------------------
Cattle stun gun may heighten "madcow'" risk
By: Leila Corcoran
Broadcasted on BICNews 25 July 1997
WASHINGTON (Reuter) - A stun gun used on cattle before slaughter can send brain tissue scattering throughout the animal, which could provide a route for madcow disease to spread to humans, a consumer group said Thursday.
There have been no documented cases of madcow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), in the United States, but the consumers group said the use of stun guns posed a potentially deadly risk in Europe.
``These new discoveries mean that some of the steaks and hamburgers Amercans eat today may contain small bits of brain matter,'' said David Schardt, nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
``Now, since BSE has not been detected here, there is no known risk at this time. But where BSE does exist in cattle, such meat with specks of brain tissue in it could be a deadly meal,'' he said.
In an unusual news conference, the Washington-based consumer watchdog group was joined by meat industry representatives who said they planned to sponsor a study on stunning methods later in the year.
``If a problem is found either with stunning in general or with particular methods or machinery, we will move swiftly to address it,'' said Janet Collins, a vice president at the American Meat Institute, an industry trade group.
Brain tissue and spinal cord are the most infectious part of an animal with BSE, which eats deadly holes in an infected animal's brain. A world panic over beef was triggered after an outbreak of the disease among British herds in the late 1980s.
Scientists remain unsure whether madcow disease can be transmitted to humans, but say they are concerned about an inexplicable rise in the number of cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, an incurable brain disease in humans.
BSE has never been detected in U.S. cattle herds and federal health officials have erected a series of ``firewalls'' against it, including banning feeding ruminant by-products -- parts of other farm animals -- to cattle, a practice believed to have spread BSE in Britain.
Before cattle are slaughtered, they are stunned with a shot to the head to make them unconscious and to protect workers. Stunning is required by law so the animal feels no pain when it dies.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest said recent research at Texas A&M University and by Canada's Food Inspection Agency found a method called pneumatic stunning delivered a force so explosive that it splattered brain tissue throughout a cow's system.
``Our research shows that it's possible that microscopic particles of brain matter can be circulated to the lungs, liver and maybe other sites,'' Tam Garland, a research veterinarian at Texas A&M said in CSPI's July newsletter. ``The implications are frightening.''
Some 30 to 40 percent of American cattle are stunned by pneumatic guns, which fire a metal bolt into a cow's brain followed by a pulverizing burst of 150 pounds of air pressure.
The method is popular at larger U.S. meat plants because it renders cattle insensible longer than other techniques, erasing concerns the animals might revive before they are killed and cause havoc in a long processing line. Pneumatic guns are not used widely abroad.
Meat industry officials said they started considering a study on stunning methods several months ago after learning of the research. They said they planned to tap U.S. and Canadian government officials for advice on how to conduct the study and hoped to have results by the end of the year.
``No one wants the U.S. to remain BSE free more than the nation's one million beef producers,'' said Gary Weber of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Reuters News Service
I. If you want to receive individual emails
II. Receive one mail with all activity in it
III. Do not want to receive any mail at all
Regards,
Tariq Khattak, Group Manager,
GSM = 0300-9599007 and 0333-9599007
+92-300-9599007 and +92-333-9599007
Tariqgulkhattak@gmail.com
Tariqgulkhattak@hotmail.com
REQUESTS:
1)Please directly contact sender for personal/individual correspondence.
2)Try to discuss issues that will catch attention of many readers.
3)Please avoid sending messages in any language other than English
4)Avoid sending messages addressed to many recipients.
5)Do not send messages aimed at personal publicity.
6)Please do not send personal/other links unless necessary.
7)The Group is not obliged to publish printed news,
very short/long comments and objectionable material.
8)Every mail cannot be published; it will overload Mailboxes
of our valued members.
9)Try to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable, Unsympathetic and/or Unpleasant.
x==x==x==x==x==x
Please note that,
It is a common platform for journalists and all others who are interested in knowing about the issues that are sometimes not reported. This group favours philosophy of progress, reform and the protection of civil liberties. Please share and educate others. The owners and managers of this site do not necessarily agree with any of the information. It is an open forum; everyone is allowed to share anything. Mails sent by members and non-members are subject to approval. However, we are not responsible in any way for the contents of mails / opinion sent by members. We do not guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. (Nor can print and electronic media). If you find content on this site which you feel is inappropriate or inaccurate, incomplete, or useless you are most welcome to report it or contradict it.
Thanks a lot.
1 comments:
The report offerѕ proven necessary to us.
It’s vеry uѕеful anԁ you're certainly quite experienced in this region. You have got opened up our eye to different opinion of this specific topic along with interesting and reliable articles.
my site > Xanax
Post a Comment
Gujranwalafun@Aol.com
Gujranwala@windiowslive.com