No exceptions to ban on ritual slaughter, rules Brussels court

A Brussels court on Wednesday dismissed the claim brought by a number of Muslim organisations against the Flemish minister for animal welfare, Ben Weyts (pictured).

Minister Weyts last September passed a ban on the slaughter of sheep without stunning except in officially recognised slaugherhouses, making the the use of temporary slaughter facilities set up during the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice obsolete.

Several Muslim organisations found that the decision breached the right to religious freedom in Belgium and filed a claim with the Brussels court.

"The European Court of Human Rights protects freedom of religion, under which falls ritual slaughter," according to the lawyer for the organisations, "and EU law also provides for an exception for cultural events, such as the Feast of the Sacrifice." The Brussels court, however, refused to lift the ban.

With not enough official slaughter facilities in Belgium to cater to the ritual, the Council of Theologians has advised Muslims to skip the sacrifice, which falls on 24 September this year.