Photo Credit: Illustration using Plaxbay and Max Pixel PD images.

The Flemish parliament in Belgium has drafted a law compelling the electric stunning of cattle, sheep, and poultry before being slaughtered, as demanded by animal rights advocates, Reuters reported. Said advocates consider kosher, as well as the Islamic halal ritual slaughter to be inhumane.

Ben Weyts, Flemish Regional Minister of Animal Welfare, said in a statement: “Unstunned slaughter is outdated. In a civilized society, it is our damn duty to avoid animal suffering where possible.”




Stunning animals fatally wounds them, and the halachic definition of “treifa” is a living creature which sustained an injury from which it would surely die within a year.

According to Reuters, additional Belgian regions are also planning anti-kosher slaughtering legislation. Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand already prohibit kosher slaughter.