127,000 signatures on a petition ensured a rejection for a ban on ritual slaughter in Brussels this past week. In neighboring Wallonia and Flanders, the slaughter of animals with stunning, even linked to religious rites, is compulsory.
Ritual slaughter is lawful in Canada, with stipulations on how it is to be done laid out in a governmental guide.
In 2019, PEGIDA Canada conducted a survey concerning halal in Canada which you can read here. Below is an interesting excerpt from this article.
As a result of our poll, we were contacted by several individuals with inside information with regards to retail halal. The following edited quote speaks of this person’s experience in their local store. Names have been omitted for the safety of the individual:
“I have been a meat manager for many years. Several years ago, my store installed an oven to cook bbq chickens. I was instructed to order halal whole chickens. The chicken supplier provided labels for halal and “regular”. I was told to use only halal to cook, and if I cooked 24 at a time to label 8 of them as halal. I did this for a while, until I learned more about halal. After that I starting ordering only “regular” chickens and still labeled them as both. My boss told me that was unethical. I told her it was equally unethical to sell halal only, and deceive Christians. When I moved to a different store, they were ordering only halal. I changed back to regular and threw out the halal labels. During a store visit the supplier rep noticed I didn’t have any halal bbq chickens and asked if I was out of labels. I told him we don’t cook halal and he gave me a funny look. I pushed him for a response and he told me that all chicken coming from them was halal. I questioned him further about all of the fresh chicken in the meat counter, because some of it did come packaged and was labeled halal. He then confirmed again that ALL chicken was halal. I freaked on him in the meat cooler. How dare they sell fresh chicken that has been inhumanely slaughtered, blessed by an imam, while 1 of my ten commandments says not to have any god before mine, and knowing that the halal certification fees are forwarded to fund terrorism. He really didn’t provide me any answers because he was shocked that I questioned him to begin with. Had he known what my response was going to be I suspect he would have lied. He was travelling with his boss a few weeks later and we had the same conversation. It is my understanding that until Muslims have a 51% of population in a country, that they are considered a “traveler” and non halal food is permissible.”
We also also addressed the availability of non-halal products, which is becoming more and more difficult to find. This is a concern for those who cannot eat halal for religious reasons.
Economically, halal profits continue to grow, as demographics change and the demand for halal products increase.
The Brussels Petition
The petition opposing the ban on ritual slaughter in Brussels will be submitted this Wednesday at 8 a.m. to the Brussels Parliament. Launched by the CCLC, the Citizen Collective for Freedom of Worship , it collected more than 127,000 signatures (online and paper), according to a count certified by a bailiff.
The presentation will precede the hearings which will be held in the morning in the Environment Committee on the several proposals for ordinance including that tabled by the deputies of Patoul (DéFi), Stoops (Groen), Lobkowicz (DéFI) and Dejonghe (Open VLD) aimed at impose stunning before any slaughter of animals.
Maître Alexis Deswaef, the lawyer who represents the CCLC will be heard by the deputies after the hearing , in particular, of Michel Vandenbosch, of the association for the defense of animals Gaïa. “ The collective represents people of the Muslim faith and of the Jewish faith who come together and who have signed a petition for the maintenance of ritual slaughter in Brussels, with respect for their religious beliefs ”, indicates the lawyer interviewed by RTBF .
“Slaughter without stunning: the ban proposal rejected by the Brussels Parliament”
Pegida Canada 