2013

• May 2013: Animal Protection Act

In 2012 questions concerning religious slaughtering were discussed as the amendment in the Animal Protection Act was drafted. The first version of the draft intended to outlaw all non-stunned slaughtering. Due to the pressure from the Jewish community an amendment in the Act then allowed post-cut stunning.

• May 2013: Protection of Historical holy sites in nature

In 2008 the Estonian Ministry of Culture implemented a development plan for the protection of historical holy sites in nature. The debates concerning the protection of the historical holy sites in nature had been going on since the mid 2000s, the main problem being the use of sacred holy sites (groves, sacred hills etc) for economical profit making by the forest industry for example. The development plan that ended in 2012 will be continued in 2014.

• 14 May 2013: Amendment in Family Law Act

In 2012 the Estonian Ministry of Justice started to draft an amendment in the Family Law Act that would regulate same sex partnerships. While the draft is supported by the sexual minorities, it has also raised strong reactions from traditional Christian circles. In 2012 a group of lay Catholics established the Foundation for the Protection of Family and Traditional Values. The Foundation started to collect signatures for their appeal for the protection of traditional family values. In one and a half month, the Foundation collected 38.000 signatures for their appeal, almost four times as much as what they had hoped for. On 14th May 2013, the appeal was handed over to the Speaker of the Parliament. The debate on the draft continues.