Novi zako­no­davni prijedlog Stranke za životinje protiv klanja bez anest­ezije


21 ožujka 2018

20. ožujka 2018. – Nizozemska stranka za životinje uvodi novi zakonodavni prijedlog za sveukupnu obvezu anesteziranja životinja prije klanja. U Nizozemskoj već postoji zakonska obveza omamljivanja životinja prije klanja, ali iznimka je halal i košer pokolj. Stranka za životinje želi ukloniti tu iznimku. Predloženi zakon ima prijelazno razdoblje od pet godina kako bi klaonice dobile priliku poduzeti potrebne prilagodbe. Nakon ovih pet godina, sve životinje u Nizozemskoj će biti omamljene prije nego što budu zaklane.

Klanje životinja bez anestezije vodi do dodatnog stresa i neprihvatljive patnje životinja. Marianne Thieme, vođa nizozemske Stranke za životinje, je zato u petak predstavila novu inicijativu zakona kako bi se omogućila zakonska obveza omamljivanja životinja za sve životinje zaklane u Nizozemskoj.

Gotovo stotinjak godina, zakonski je utvrđeno da životinje moraju biti omamljene prije klanja. Izuzetak je napravljen za ritualno klanje. Došlo je do znanstvenog konsenzusa s obzirom na dodatni stres i bol nanesen životinji klanjem bez anestezije. Posljednjih godina pojavilo se mnogo znanstvenih izvješća koja pokazuju da životinje zaklane bez omamljivanja osjete dodatni stres i bol tijekom cijelog procesa sputavanja, rezanja grla i razdoblje dok ne izgube svijest. Europsko udruženje veterinara dijeli rezultate ovog znanstvenog istraživanja i smatra dodatnu patnju životinjama nedopustivom.

Marianne Thieme: “Sloboda religije prestaje tamo gdje počinje patnja drugih – ljudi i životinja. Temeljno pravo kao što je sloboda vjeroispovijesti nikad nije apsolutno i mora se uvijek odmjeriti prema drugim (temeljnim) pravima i težim interesima u društvu. Zaštita životinja od izbježive boli i stresa je taj teži interes. ”

U drugim zemljama je iz tog razloga već uvedena zabrana klanja bez omamljivanja, kao što su Australija, Norveška, Danska i u Belgiji je odlučeno u 2017. prijeći na zabranu. U Novom Zelandu se kod ritualnog klanja već u velikoj mjeri koristi prethodno omamljivanje.

Kontekst

2011 godine je ogromna većina nizozemskog parlamenta glasala za prethodni zakonodavni prijedlog od Marianne Thieme kako bi se u potpunosti zabranilo klanje bez omamljivanja. Senat je zatim odbio prijedlog.

Društvo i zakonodavac sve više uzima u obzir unutarnju vrijednost životinja u svim odlukama. U društvenoj i političkoj raspravi odnosi se i na skrb o dobrobiti životinja, kao i na pitanje za koje svrhe se životinje mogu koristiti. To je u Nizozemskoj dovelo do zabrane korištenja divljih životinja u cirkusima (2015) i zabranu držanja i uzgoja kanadske kune za proizvodnju krzna (2014.), te u 90. godinama zabranu testiranja na životinjama za kozmetiku i drastično smanjenje broja životinjskih vrsta za rekreacijski lov.

20 March 2018 – The Dutch Party for the Animals is going to put forward a new legislative proposal for a general obligation to stun animals before slaughter. In the Netherlands there already is a statutory obligation to stun animals before they are slaughtered but an exception is made for halal and kosher slaughter. The Party for the Animals wants to end that exception. The proposed bill will be subject to a transitional period of five years so that slaughterhouses have the chance to make the adjustments needed. Following these five years, all animals in the Netherlands will be stunned prior to slaughter.

Slaughtering animals without stunning leads to more stress and unacceptable animal suffering. Marianne Thieme, the Party Leader of the Dutch Party for the Animals, therefore submitted a new private member’s bill last Friday to make it a statutory duty to stun all animals slaughtered in the Netherlands.

Almost one hundred years ago, it was laid down by law that animals must be stunned prior to slaughter. An exception was made for ritual slaughter. A scientific consensus emerged in respect of the additional stress and the pain suffered by the animal because it was slaughtered without stunning. Over the past years, many scientific reports were published showing that animals which are slaughtered without stunning experience more stress and pain during the entire process of restraint, when their throat is cut and when they lose consciousness. The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe shared the outcomes of this scientific research and believes that additional animal suffering is unacceptable.

Marianne Thieme: “The freedom of religion ends where the suffering of others -humans and animals- starts. A fundamental right such as the freedom of religion is never absolute and must always be weighed against other (fundamental) rights and substantial interests of society. The protection of animals against avoidable pain and stress is a substantial interest.”

For this reason, slaughter without stunning was already banned in other countries, including in Australia, Norway and Denmark. In 2017, it was also decided to ban slaughter without stunning in Belgium. In New Zealand, prior stunning is already applied on a large scale when ritual slaughter is performed.

Background

In 2011, a large majority of the Dutch Parliament voted in favour of a previous legislative bill submitted by Marianne Thieme to completely ban slaughter without stunning. The bill was then rejected by the Senate.

The intrinsic value of animals is considered by society and by the legislator in all their decisions. The social and political debates are about providing animal welfare as well as the purpose for which animals may be used. In the Netherlands, for example, this led to a ban on using wild animals in circuses (2015), a ban on keeping and breeding minks for the production of fur (2014), and a ban on animal testing for cosmetics and the drastic reduction of the number of species for hobby hunting in the 90s.