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Assemblée nationale : Réponse écrite à la question n°36062 : Conditions d’abattage

By February 8th 2022February 23rd, 2022No Comments

Document type : Written answer published in the French  Journal Officiel 

Authors: Question: André Villiers (UDI and Independents - Yonne). Answer: French Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Question: Mr André Villiers asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food about the slaughter of farm animals. On 17 December 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that it is in conformity with European regulations to impose the prior stunning of an animal at the time of its slaughter, in order to limit its suffering. The decision was made following a 2017 decree by the Flemish Region of Belgium, precisely in the name of animal welfare. In line with this decision, it would be appropriate to prohibit, in France, the slaughter of farm and domestic animals without prior stunning, and thus comply with European case law. He would like to know the Government's position on this matter.

Answer: Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing, states that the stunning of animals is mandatory before slaughter or killing. However, when this practice is not compatible with ritual requirements relating to the free exercise of religious beliefs, the same regulation provides for the possibility of a derogation from the stunning requirement under certain conditions. Through these provisions, the Council wished to maintain the derogation from the stunning of animals prior to slaughter, while leaving a certain degree of subsidiarity to each Member State. This is what the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) referred to in its judgment of 17 December 2020, when it emphasised "that the European legislature intended to leave to each Member State a broad discretion in the context of the need to reconcile the protection of the welfare of animals at the time of killing with respect for the freedom to manifest one's religion".

Furthermore, while the CJEU found that the ban on slaughter without prior stunning does not infringe the freedom of practising Jews and Muslims, it nevertheless recognises that it is a "limitation" on the exercise of freedom of conscience and religion guaranteed by Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. However, this limitation is not considered disproportionate by the CJEU, which considers that, in the case of the Flemish Region, it is a "fair balance" between the importance attached to animal welfare and the freedom of Jewish and Muslim believers to manifest their religion. This fair balance is ensured in particular by the fact that the decree issued by the Flemish authority does not prohibit or hinder the placing on the market of products of animal origin from animals that have been ritually slaughtered without stunning when these products originate from another Member State or a third country.

Thus, although the Flemish region of Belgium has banned the slaughter of animals without prior stunning, the religious communities of this region have not stopped consuming meat from animals slaughtered without any stunning, in particular halal meat, the production of which has been relocated abroad, including in France. The "right balance" between the imperative of animal protection and freedom of religion cannot be achieved in France by banning slaughter without prior stunning, given the far greater size of the practising Jewish and Muslim religious communities compared with Flanders, for whom a national supply of meat from ritual slaughter is necessary. Last, the slaughter of animals without prior stunning in France is governed by a prefectoral authorisation provided for by Decree No. 2011-2006 of 28 December 2011. This method of slaughter is carried out in an approved slaughterhouse, after the animal has been immobilised and in compliance with strict animal protection measures in order to reduce suffering during the killing of the animals. The Government remains committed to the rights of all citizens within the framework of compliance with the regulations in force. Last, at the beginning of July 2021, the Minister of Agriculture reiterated his commitment to animal protection and announced an "abattoir plan" which provides for accompanying measures and improved controls in terms of animal welfare.