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Ritual slaughter

Ritual slaughter

In 2017 the Ministry of Rural Development and Food took the initiative to legalise ritual slaughter through the ministerial decision 951/44337/21.4.2017 (Official Gazette 1447/Β/27-4-2017). In 2021 the Council of State decided (decision 1751/2021) that the ministerial decision 951/44337/21.4.2017 with regard to animal slaughtering was non-compliant with the existing legal framework regarding animal protection and respect. In March 2022 the Greek government put out for public consultation the amendment of the Animal protection law (1198/1981) in order to overcome the problems created by the Council of State decision. Currently there is no legislation on ritual slaughter.

In the public debate

Ritual slaughter was not an issue of public debates in Greece until very recently. In 2017 the Ministry of Rural Development and Food took the initiative to legalise ritual slaughter through the ministerial decision 951/44337 (Official Gazette 1447/Β/27-4-2017). However, Animal Associations appealed to the Council of State against this law. In October 2021 the Council of State published its decision (1751/2021) which annulled the ministerial decision 951/44337/21.4.2017 with regard to kosher and halal procedures as non-compliant with the existing legal framework regarding animal protection and respect.

This decision caused reactions from both Muslim and Jewish communities, who felt that it would create serious problems in their everyday lives and in accomplishing their religious duties. The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece made a public announcement arguing that, “the Greek Jewry is highly concerned about the Judgement of the Hellenic Council of the State no 1751/2021, which annuls the Joint Ministerial Decision of 2017. This judgement -which literally forbids kosher religious slaughter- is a strike against the right of the Greek Jews to freely practise their religion and observe the traditions of Jewish faith. Keeping kosher diet is an integral part of the Judaic law, it has been observed throughout centuries, and its banning would constitute a heavy blow to the Jewish way of life. We hope that the Greek State’s competent authorities will regulate the issue of animal slaughter with a just and viable solution that will safeguard the continuation of the observance of the religious duties of the Greek Jews, as well as of the thousands of Jewish visitors in Greece.”

In March 2022 the Greek government put out for public consultation the modification of the law on animal protection (1198/1981) in order to overcome the problems created by the Council of State decision. However, there were huge reactions from ecological and animal organisations. One of them managed to mobilise people and published around 2,800 comments in the online public consultation process against this revision. Kriton Arsenis, an MP of the left-wing party MERA 25 (DIEM 25) submitted a question to the Minister of Rural Development and Food asking whether the government would respect the decision of the Council of State that prohibits the slaughter of animals without anaesthesia, noting that, according to a recent decision of the European Court of Justice, animal slaughter without anaesthesia cannot get organic certification. Similarly, the Panhellenic Veterinary Association expressed its clear opposition to the possibility of changing the current legislative framework lifting the ban on slaughtering animals without anaesthesia, and added that “we respect the right of our Muslim and Jewish fellow citizens who can continue to consume food as they did until 2022 when the ban was in force.”

D 15 December 2022    AAlexandros Sakellariou

CNRS Unistra Dres Gsrl

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