Responsible Regulation of the Religious Slaughter of Animals

One of the more intractable issues associated with animal law and ethics concerns responsibly regulating the slaughter of animals according to the requirements of the Jewish religious tradition and some interpretations of the Islamic religious tradition.  Most Western liberal democratic societies require animals to be stunned before slaughter to ensure they are insensible when killed.  However, the Jewish tradition and many interpretations of the Islamic tradition prohibit pre-slaughter stunning.  In these traditions, animals are killed according to specific religious rituals that involve cutting the animal’s throat and permitting it to exsanguinate without prior stunning.  These requirements therefore come into direct conflict with Statutes, Codes and Regulations of many Western countries intending to give expression to animal welfare policies by requiring pre-slaughter stunning.  However, such practices are also protected by international and domestic human rights instruments guaranteeing freedom of religious practice and expression.  Recent decisions of European Courts demonstrate the difficulties that arise when countries attempt to regulate this conflict.  In exploring several of these recent decisions, this article intends to outline the parameters of this conflict and to suggest a potential way forward to responsible regulation of such practices.