High Court Rules in Favor of Muslim Ritual

Germany’s highest court overturned a six-year old ruling on Tuesday and allowed Muslims to slaughter animals according to their religious rites.

In its decision, the Karlsruhe-based court ruled that Germany’s strict Animal Protection Law could be interpreted to allow ritual slaughter out of religious obligation. The ruling meant victory for the Muslim butchers barred from ritual slaughter by a 1995 ruling by Germany’s top administrative court.

Representatives of Germany’s 3 million-strong Muslim community celebrated the decision as a major victory for Islam’s standing in Germany. Animal rights activists bemoaned the victory of a slaughter ritual in which they said animals die a slow and painful death.

"In the German constitution we have the freedom of profession, the freedom of art, the freedom of religion, but we don’t have the animal welfare law on the same level as the constitutional law," said a spokeswoman for the Bonn-based Federation of Animal Protection Society. "Therefore, if you have to find a balance between the other freedoms and animal welfare, its always a decision against animal welfare."

The court did allow that only certified butchers would be allowed to conduct ritual slaughters. The distinction meant a victory to some animal protection activists, like Germany’s Agricultural Minister Renate Künast, who said it was important to place limits on animal slaughter.

Germany’s Muslims called the court ruling important for the historically strained relationship between Germany and its Islamic community.

"This ruling recognizes for the first time our tradition so that we are on equal footing with the Jewish community and the Christians," said Wolf Aries, a German Muslim convert who sits on the country’s Islamic Council.