MEPs Vote to Protect Religious Slaughter
Attempts to ban the production of kosher meat in the UK were dealt a major blow this week after the European Parliament voted in favour of declaring shechita a legitimate form of animal slaughter - a ruling that will be enshrined in European law and binding on all member states.
The decision comes four years after the British government rejected a recommendation by the Farm Animal Welfare Council to ban the practice.
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At the time, with the future of kosher meat under threat, the Jewish News launched a Keep Meat Kosher campaign, delivering thousands of letters from concerned readers to Number 10 Downing Street.
And in the wake of scientific evidence from lobby group Shechita in March 2005, the government acknowledged the method of slaughter was humane.
However, the issue has continually been debated. But this week's European ruling is expected to alleviate the threat. Shechita UK spokesman Shimon Cohen told the Jewish News: "This is a helpful reinforcement. It won't stop other groups from putting forward their views, but we're used to that. But the British government, which has always been so helpful in protecting these rights in the past, will be bound by this decision in the future to continue that protection."
Calling the vote a "step in the right direction", Ilford North MP Lee Scott added: "Any European nation will be duty bound to follow that law. Shechita is something that's been entrenched in British law for some time and been proven to be a humane form of animal slaughter, though certain groups do from time to time speak out against it.
"While this might not keep those groups from exercising their right to free speech and calling for a ban on shechita, it should certainly work as reinforcement to ensure it never comes close to being banned. European law takes precedence."
However, though the decision to entrench shechita into European law has been won, the final text of the bill will be voted on next month by the Council of Ministers. Striking a note of caution, Scott said: "Like everyone else, I'd like to see the fine print. But it does certainly seem a positive move."
Echoing that sentiment, Shechita UK Chairman Henry Grunwald (pictured) said: "This vote represents the first time that shechita has been recognised as a legitimate form of animal slaughter by any European institution.We recognise that some member states disagree on the issue but we are working hard to achieve a satisfactory outcome for all Jewish communities in Europe when the final text comes before the Council of Ministers in June."
Secretary General of the EJC Serge Cwajgenbaum said he saw "this issue as crucial to religious freedom and observance in Europe", adding: "It was essential that we spoke with one voice, and that we reasoned with MEPs to vote to protect our religious and human rights."
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