FACTSHEET

RITUAL SLAUGHTER

UNITED STATES COMMISSION on

INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

732 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite #A714

Washington, DC 20401

202-523-3240

October 2020

By Zack Udin, Researcher

Overview

Dietary laws pertaining to the slaughter of animals are integral religious mandates 

for many, in particular for Jews and Muslims who are required to eat meat certified 

as kosher or halal, respectively. To ensure proper certification, an animal must be 

slaughtered according to methods of shechita and dhabīh. ah. Shechita refers to the 

process of slaughter handed down by oral tradition and codified in halakha (Jewish 

religious laws). Among a number of requirements, the person performing the ritual 

(shochet) must cut the neck with a knife in a back and forth motion and sever the 

trachea and esophagus of the animal. Dhabīh. ah, prescribed by Islamic law from the 

Quran, involves using a well-sharpened knife to make a swift, deep incision that cuts 

the carotid artery, trachea, and jugular veins but leaves the spinal cord intact. Dietary 

laws such as these traditionally serve a variety of functions for adherents, including 

fulfilling health, philosophical, ethical, and spiritual needs.

Complicating the ability of Jews and Muslims to comply with these religious practices 

are laws across Europe restricting ritual slaughter. Animal rights activists and others 

contend that shechita and dhabīh. ah are inhumane methods of slaughter, and as a 

result have sought to limit the practice by requiring stunning the animal at certain 

points in the process or banning the practice outright. Some countries have laws 

that require an animal be stunned before the cut is performed (“pre-cut stunning”), 

after the cut is performed (“post-cut stunning”), or at the same time as the cut 

(“concurrent sedation”). 

These laws force individuals to abandon deeply held religious doctrine and imply 

a message of exclusion to all those who seek to follow their religion’s dietary 

requirements. While some Islamic authorities accept certain types of stunning in ritual 

slaughter, there is virtually no such allowance by Jewish authorities. The U.S. Special 

Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr called such restrictions 

“disgraceful.” 

Regulations against religious slaughter have existed in Europe since the 19th century. 

Switzerland, the first country to institute a ban on ritual slaughter, allegedly did so as 

a response to increased immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe in the late 1800s. 

Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, and Sweden enacted similar bans in the 

lead-up to World War II.

www.USCIRF.gov

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Gayle Manchin

Chair

Tony Perkins

Vice Chair

Anurima Bhargava

Vice Chair

Commissioners

Gary Bauer

James W. Carr

Frederick A. Davie

Nadine Maenza

Johnnie Moore

Nury Turkel

Erin D. Singshinsuk

Executive Director

USCIRF’s Mission

To advance international 

freedom of religion or 

belief, by independently 

assessing and unflinchingly 

confronting threats to this 

fundamental right.
USCIRF Legislation Factsheet: RITUAL SLAUGHTER LAWS IN EUROPE: October 2020 2

This factsheet shows the spectrum of restrictions on ritual 

slaughter in European countries and provides information 

on select countries’ regulations of the practice.

Legal Standards

The freedom of religion or belief is protected by 

Articles 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and 

Political Rights (ICCPR). The freedom of religion or belief 

includes the right to manifest religion or belief. This 

right extends to the observance and practice of religion 

or belief, which, as explained in the UN Human Rights 

Committee’s General Comment 22, includes customs such 

as the observance of dietary regulations. Any limitations 

on manifestations of religious freedom must be narrowly 

construed and based on grounds specified by Article 18 

of the ICCPR. Limitations must not be discriminatory, 

destroy guaranteed rights, or derive from a single 

tradition alone.

Within the European human rights framework, Article 14 

of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) 

enshrines the principle of equality and the prohibition 

of discrimination based on religion. Article 9(1) of the 

ECHR protects the freedom of religion or belief, including 

the practice and observance of religion. Article 9(2) allows 

1 Sources: Library of Congress Report on Legal Restrictions on Religious Slaughter in Europe and Department of State’s 2019 International Religious Freedom Report.

limitations on this right when prescribed by law and 

necessary in a democratic society to further a specified 

interest. In Cha’are Shalom Ve Tsedek v. France, the 

European Court of Human Rights reviewed a French law 

that required slaughters occur in slaughterhouses. In 2000, 

the majority upheld the law, holding that the freedom of 

religion or belief guarantees the ability to consume meat 

that conforms to ritual slaughter rules, but the right to 

participate in ritual slaughter or the certification process 

can be narrowly limited pursuant to Article 9(2). The court 

found that the denial of a permit to a Jewish association to 

perform ritual slaughters was not a violation of the right 

to practice religion, as the association was not stopped 

from obtaining and consuming ritually slaughtered meat. 

A minority of seven judges dissented, finding that France 

had violated the association’s rights.

The 1979 Council of Europe convention, “European 

Convention for the Protection of Animals for Slaughter,” 

and the European Union’s Council Regulation 1099/2009

require stunning before slaughter but authorize countries 

to make their own regulations concerning “slaughtering 

in accordance with religious rituals.” The Convention 

applies to all European Union (EU) countries and has 

been ratified by other countries that are members of the 

Council of Europe, including Switzerland.

Current Restrictions in Countries that are Members of the Council of Europe1

Restriction Countries

No Stunning Required (72%) Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus*, 

Czech Republic, France*, Georgia, Germany*, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg*, 

Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, 

Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain*, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Post-cut Stunning Required (9%) Austria, Estonia, Greece, Latvia

Concurrent Sedation (2%) Finland (halal slaughter performed)+

Pre-cut Stunning Required (15%) Belgium (Wallonia and Flanders)+, Denmark (halal slaughter with prior sedation performed)+, 

Iceland+, Liechtenstein (except chicken)+, Norway+, Sweden+, Switzerland (except chicken)+

All Ritual Slaughter Banned (2%) Slovenia+

* Permits and/or prior authorization required

+ Unstunned meat may be imported
3 USCIRF Legislation Factsheet: RITUAL SLAUGHTER LAWS IN EUROPE: October 2020

Illustrative Laws (from least to most restrictive)

No Stunning Required

Germany: German law prohibits the killing of animals 

without anesthesia. However, a Federal Administrative 

Court decision allows permits for trained persons 

to kill animals without anesthesia in an accredited 

slaughterhouse under observation of the local veterinary 

inspection office if the meat is for consumption only 

by members of religious communities with special 

dietary laws.

Cyprus: In previous years, the Department of Veterinary 

Services granted exemptions to the EU’s directive for 

the pre-cut stunning requirement. However, Jewish 

representatives complained in 2019 that officials denied 

exemptions from the pre-cut stunning requirement. The 

Jewish community is able to import kosher meat, but at a 

much higher cost than if it were locally available. 

Post-cut Stunning Required

Greece: A 2017 Joint Ministerial Decision implementing 

the EU Council Regulation 1099/2009 permits religious 

slaughter in accordance with kosher and halal principles, 

but the procedure must include stunning immediately 

after cutting (except for poultry) and must take place in 

a slaughterhouse rather than in private residences or in 

public. 

Concurrent Sedation

Finland: The Finnish Animal Protections Act requires that 

animals be stunned prior to cutting. However, the Act 

allows for stunning the animal at the same moment as the 

cut for religious slaughter. Islamic authorities in Finland 

certify meat prepared in this manner as halal, but Jewish 

community leaders do not consider this method kosher, 

causing Jews to import permissible meat at high prices. A 

2018 bill in the Finnish parliament would have required 

pre-cut stunning before slaughter in all cases, but the new 

parliament in 2019 did not take up the legislation. 

Pre-cut Stunning Required 

Denmark: A regulation banning ritual slaughter of 

animals without pre-cut stunning went into effect

in February 2014, but there is no restriction against 

importing permissible meat. Islamic authorities in 

Denmark allow unstunned meat to be certified halal. 

All religious slaughter that does occur must take place at 

slaughterhouses registered with the Veterinary and Food 

Administration. Failure to abide by the law results in fines 

or up to four months in prison. 

Belgium: In 2017, two of Belgium’s three regions, Wallonia 

and Flanders, adopted legislation to prohibit unstunned 

slaughter. These bans went into effect on January 1 and 

August 31, 2019, respectively. As a result, permissible meat 

is harder to acquire and often more expensive than in the 

past. Violations are punishable by fines between €52 and 

€2,000. The Brussels region allows unstunned slaughter.

The Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in 

Belgium filed a lawsuit in Belgium’s Constitutional Court 

to challenge the ban on ritual slaughter in Wallonia and 

Flanders. The Constitutional Court requested assistance 

from the EU Court of Justice, and a ruling on the case is 

expected later this year.

All Ritual Slaughter Banned

Slovenia: As amended in 2012, Slovenia’s Animal Welfare 

Act banned all ritual slaughter. In 2018, the Constitutional 

Court unanimously upheld the Act, stating that the 

constitution prohibits suffering to be inflicted on animals 

without a justified cause and that the law does not 

“excessively interfere with the right to freedom of religion.” 

The Islamic Community of Slovenia provides certificates 

to companies producing meat from stunned animals, 

confirming the meat as halal. The Jewish community 

imports kosher meat from neighboring countries.

Conclusion

The right to manifest religion or belief, including by adhering to dietary regulations, is enshrined in numerous 

fundamental human rights documents. By limiting the ability of Jews and Muslims to follow these regulations, countries 

cast these communities as “others” and place undue burdens on them to source permissible meat. The United States 

Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls on European countries to review their domestic laws to 

guarantee their citizens this right.
UNITED STATES COMMISSION on INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

732 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite #A714

Washington, DC 20401

202-523-3240

www.USCIRF.gov

@USCIRF

Media@USCIRF.gov

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the 

U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, 

the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief.

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