Dutch Senate Unlikely To Concur In Ban On Halal and Kosher Slaughter

Last June, the lower house of Netherlands' parliament overwhelmingly passed a bill that effectively would ban kosher and halal slaughter of animals. The bill did so by eliminating a provision in current law that exempts ritual slaughter from the requirement that animals be stunned before they are killed. (See prior posting.) While at that time it appeared that the Dutch Senate would go along with the lower house, now, according to an AP report, support of several parties, including Netherlands' two largest, seems to have disappeared.  While the Senate vote on the bill will not take place until Dec. 20, yesterday the Senate debated the bill.  Senator Nico Schrijver said the Labour party now has "many questions," and suggested that animal welfare could better be improved by aiming at conditions in large-scale industrial slaughter houses rather than at the small number of  ritual slaughterers. The VVD party which holds the largest number of seats in Parliament also now seems unlikely to support the proposal. VVD senator Sybe Schaap argued that the bill reflects "ethical absolutism".