The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that bans on the ritual slaughter of animals for meat that are in force in Flanders and Wallonia do not contravene the European Convention of Human Rights. The ruling at the court in Strasbourg was announced on Tuesday morning.
European Court of Human Rights has no issues with ban on the ritual slaughter of animals for meat
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In 2021 Belgium’s Constitutional Court ruled that the ban is not unconstitutional. A number of private citizens and Jewish and Muslim organisations had gone to Strasbourg in the hope that the court would rule that the bans by the Walloon and Flemish regional authorities are an infringement of their human rights.
The European Court of Human Rights said in a press release that the measures taken by the Flemish and Walloon authorities are "justified” and that they "can pass as being proportionate to the objective that is being pursued, namely the protection of animal welfare as an element of 'public morality'."
According to the Court, the Flemish and Walloon decrees do not violate freedom of religion or the principle of non-discrimination. It is the first time the Court that watches over the application of the European Convention on Human Rights has ruled on the relationship between animal welfare and religious freedom.
Among those that had taken the case to Strasbourg are the Chief Rabbi and the Muslim Executive.
Flemish Animal Welfare Minister “satisfied”
In a response to the ruling the Flemish Minister responsible for animal welfare Ben Weyts (nationalist) told VRT News that he is “satisfied”. A ban on the ritual slaughter of animals for meat has been in force since 2019. No such ban is in force in the Brussels-Capital Region.
Mr Weyts says that "Now the door is open for a ban on ritual slaughter not only in Brussels but in the whole of Europe”. He adds that " We are now reaching out to the faith communities that challenged the ban. Let us now turn this page for good and fight together for improved animal welfare”.