Halal Slaughter Causing a Furor In Quebec

Quebec is not known for its animal welfare concerns or laws. I think the issue stems from this being an Islamic practice and the fear of contaminated meat, not concern for the animals.

From JTA, the Global News Service of the Jewish People....

Two political parties in Quebec are speaking out about the ritual slaughter of animals, but a Jewish advocacy group is confident that kashrut is not being targeted.

The opposition Parti Québécois and the Coalition For Quebec's Future declared their concerns about halal meat, which comes from animals that are slaughtered according to Islamic law.

A Parti Québécois legislator said Wednesday that slaughter for halal meat is an affront to animal rights and runs counter to the values cherished by Quebecers. The pro-independence party said it was worried that mainstream companies are selling halal meat without labeling to unsuspecting consumers. It wants to know how many companies are involved in producing halal meat and the number of animals are being slaughtered annually under Islamic ritual.

"This type of slaughter slams directly against Québécois values," the Parti Québécois said in a statement.

Animal Welfare Supported in Islam?

Huh. Thanks to NARN for pointing out this short piece printed on the internet edition of the Saudi Gazette.

Study Claims Islamic Slaughtering More Humane

I came across this strange article about German research on which slaughter method creates more pain for the animal: the Western method of stunning or the Islamic method of a cut to the neck. According to the researchers, the Islamic method wins. You can read all about the results in the article.

What an utterly grotesque project.

The Islamic practice of slaughtering animals by means of a sharp cut to the front of the neck has frequently come under attack by some animal rights activists as being a form of animal cruelty, the claim being that it is a painful inhumane method of killing animals. In the West, it is required by law to stun the animals with a shot to the head before the slaughter, supposedly to render the animal unconscious and to prevent it from reviving before it is killed so as not to slow down the movement of the processing line. It is also used to prevent the animal from feeling pain before it dies.

It therefore may come as a surprise to those who have made such acclamations to learn of the results of a study carried out by Professor Wilhelm Schulze and his colleague Dr. Hazim at the School of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover University in Germany. The study: 'Attempts to Objectify Pain and Consciousness in Conventional (captive bolt pistol stunning) and Ritual (halal, knife) Methods of Slaughtering Sheep and Calves' concludes that Islamic slaughtering is the most humane method of slaughter and that captive bolt stunning, practised in the West, causes severe pain to the animal.

Brigitte Bardot Fined for "Inciting" Racial Hatred

I'm sorry but I have a hard time with this.

The French screen icon was convicted by a Paris jury this morning of provoking discrimination and racial hatred over a letter she published claiming that Muslims were destroying France, her fifth race-related conviction in the past 11 years.

Bardot was also fined $23,345 for the letter, which she wrote to then Interior Minister, now President Nicolas Sarkozy, in which she stated, "I've had enough of being led by the nose by this population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts."

Last time I checked, Islam was not a race. She was speaking about this in the context of the way Muslims slaughter sheep, not about a particular racial or ethnic group. Does this mean she can only criticize Christian religious practices because it's mainly white people? I understand the push against stupid xenophobic tendencies towards immigrants etc. But this is about a animal welfare issues involving a religious practice, not racism.

Iranian Man Imprisoned for Walking Dog

This is just strange. Dogs are considered "impure" in Islam, so they are going to beat this guy and put him im prison.

A 70-year-old Iranian man was arrested and sentenced to four months in jail and 30 lashes for walking his dog, Adnkronos.com reported Tuesday. Police caught the man on the street with his dog in Shahr Rey, a suburb of Tehran.

Owners of domestic animals are forbidden from taking them on the streets of the city because Islam considers dogs to be impure. An Islamic judge later charged the man for "disturbing the public order,” Adnkronos.com reported.

Muslims can own dogs, but not keep them in the house. I don't pretend to know Islamic theology, but this religion sounds like a sure prescription for cruelty and abuse. Some may try to talk their way around it, like here, but I'm just not buying it. Dogs are just considered BAD in the Islamic world. A 70 year old man shows compassion for an animal and is treated like this. I wonder what they did to the dog...

What a very sad view of these wonderful animals.