The storm around the prohibition of shechitah in Denmark has also reached the Arab world which has a considerable representation in this country. The Arab world has raised an outcry against the ban of slaughter of meat without first shocking the animal, which is forbidden to Arabs in their hallal procedure. Leaders of the Arab community there have declared that they will defy the law.
Last week the Danish agricultural minister signed an order forbidding slaughter without first stunning the animal. It is expected that this decision will not materially affect the Jewish community, which is very small in any case, and for several years has not slaughtered its own meat but imports it from Jewish sources outside Denmark. The Jewish population in Denmark is estimated at a total of 6,000, of which only 2,000 are registered as members of Jewish communities.
On the other hand, the Moslem population is very large and they slaughter their own meat throughout Denmark without stunning the animal beforehand, which is forbidden to them. Thus, the new order affects them considerably.
The Arab media has covered this decision extensively. "Animal rights precede religion" were the headlines in Arab newspapers. The Egyptian paper termed it "hypocrisy", and stated that "if Denmark is genuinely concerned about animal rights, why doesn't it come out against force-feeding thousands of calves and fowl in tiny pens where they can't even move?"
