The ritual slaughter of animals in Denmark is in the news again, this time because the ban for which the “animal rights” lobby has been campaigning long and hard has come into force. The arguments against ritual slaughter be it Kosher or halal are superficially impressive, but they do not stand up to the slightest critical scrutiny.
If people are to eat meat, animals must die, that simple fact is unavoidable, and is it really less humane to slit an animal’s throat without pre-stunning? Before answering yes to that question, the reader might like to check out some of the videos on YouTube uploaded by “animal rights” activists that show what happens in both China and the West to animals that are slaughtered in a non-ritual manner. These foolish people don’t seem to understand that in so doing they undermine their case against ritual slaughter.
If – and only if – you have a strong stomach, you might like to check out the following.
Animal Cruelty In South China *
Among other horrors, this show animals being skinned alive.
Here is a short video from the UK that shows cruelty to pigs, among other things.
Finally, Farm To Fridge has an American angle. It begins with the physical abuse of pigs including the castration of piglets without anaesthetic, progresses to the killing of chicks and the production of battery hens, then turns to the suffering of cattle before finishing with some rarely considered aspects of fishing.
There are many more videos of such horrors to be found therein; though much of the suffering documented here is not merely avoidable but wanton, it is all condoned by consumers if only by their silent acquiesence. No one who is not prepared to switch to a vegan diet has any right to criticise either Kosher or halal slaughter.
[The above article was first published February 21, 2014. The associated image and caption (which were not uploaded by me) have not been included. * Instead of linking to Animal Cruelty In Southern China (on YouTube), I have linked to a shorter video already on this site. It contains the same sort of explicit cruelty but less of it.]
Back To AllVoices Index