Antwerp: Discount for Muslims who stun their sheep before slaughter
Muslims who will stun their sheep before slaughter on Eid al-Adha will receive a ten euro discount from the city of Antwerp. Usually Muslims pay 25 euro for using the municipal slaughterhouses, but whoever uses a new slaughterhouse with stunning equipment will pay just 15 euro.
"Brilliant initiative," says Michel Vandenbosch, head of animal rights group Gaia and member of the Antwerp advising council on animal welfare. He calls this a 'win-win situation', but adds that this is a transitional measure and that next year it should be the rule for everybody.
Mohammed Chakkar of the Federation of Moroccan Associations is less enthusiastic. "This won't have much success. People think that the animal doesn't suffer if it's properly slaughtered." He says animal welfare is being cited as the reason, but that the city just wants people to sacrifice their animals differently.
Source: Nieuwsblad (Dutch)
