As a result of the ban being enacted, slaughterhouse workers will have to stun animals before they kill them. In the past, religious communities were exempted from doing this, but not anymore. Dan Jørgensen, the country’s minister for agriculture and food, said that animal rights come before religion.
Activists with Danish Halal said that this restriction interferes with religious freedom. The law was also slammed by Israeli chief rabbi David Lau, who described the law as a severe blow to the Jewish faith, as well as to Jews residing in Denmark.
A year ago, when the ban allowed religious exemptions, there were concerns that the ban would cost the multi-million dollar Danish trade and tourism markets from states located in the Gulf. Gulf countries import massive quantities of beef and poultry products.
Under halal and kashrut laws, observant Muslims and Jews won’t eat meat unless the animal has been killed via a single slice to the neck.
Earlier in the year, the British government responded to a petition that called a ban on religious slaughtering of animals. More than 100,000 people signed the petition, but the government said that it had no plans to ban it.
