Shafts: Why animal rights activists take action against them
Animals are slaughtered every day. There are different methods. Slaughtering is a method of slaughter that is not welcomed by animal rights activists. We explain everything about the topic.
That is why animal rights activists are taking action against slaughtering
Meat is a popular food. There are different ways to slaughter an animal. Mining is one of them.
- During slaughter, the animal's throat is cut without anesthesia so that it bleeds out.
- The animal's trachea and esophagus and the main arteries are cut with a knife provided for this purpose.
- Due to the deep cut, the animal should lose blood so quickly that it quickly loses consciousness.
- Animal rights activists believe that immediate loss of consciousness is not guaranteed even if it is carried out correctly.
- Since the slaughter takes place without anesthesia, the animal may go through a several-minute death struggle with full awareness.
- That is why slaughtering is prohibited in Germany.
- Nevertheless, it is allowed to buy and sell animals that have been slaughtered abroad in Germany.
- A well-founded exception permit can also be obtained for shafting in Germany. Since the slaughter is based on religious backgrounds, this is granted more often.
- The animal should bleed out completely when slaughtering. Stunning would reduce that. Animal rights activists point out the possibility of electrical stunning, which causes the animal to bleed out just as quickly.
- The aim of the animal rights activists is that the electrical stunning must be carried out without exception before the shafting.
The origin of the shaft
As already mentioned, slaughtering is not an arbitrary type of battle.
- Slaughtering is used in Judaism and Islam.
- Jews and Muslims are not allowed to consume unclean meat. The ritual slaughtering makes the meat pure and therefore edible.
- Believers are also not allowed to consume blood. Therefore, they let the animal bleed out completely beforehand. This process is called "shafting".
- Injured and sick animals are unclean, so not "kosher" in Judaism, or not "halal" in Islam. The animals must be in good condition before being slaughtered.
- Anesthesia would count as an injury, so Jews also reject electrical anesthesia. It is controversial among the Muslims whether it is impure or still pure meat.
- After slaughtering, the meat of the dead animal is carefully examined and treated again so that it is really pure.
- Also, some pieces of meat are generally not allowed to be eaten because they are always considered impure.
This is prohibited during the shafting process
The slaughterer, also called "Schochet", must have learned how to slaughter. He should master both the cut perfectly and the right ritual words. Mistakes made when slaughtering can contaminate the meat. These errors can be:
- A break during the cut.
- Pressing the blade down your throat. The knife should cut cleanly.
- Cutting in the wrong place on the animal's neck.
- Tearing instead of cutting the neck vessels due to a rough cut.
In the next article you will read what Ramadan means.