Yes Banjo, I have seen women upon whom FGM has been practiced, but the laws are already in place on that practice, so I guess your issue should be with the police?
I would be more than happy to see male circumscision added to that law as well, because that is equally heinous to me.

But this thread is about the animals who have no real voice themselves, so I guess we have to speak out for them.
We need to Stop the ritual killings, and ban all such practices in this country, and to all countries to which we export live animals.

killing animals by following religious ritual has existed from the time that religion began and if we expect other people to honour our religion we in turn have to respect their religion no matter how abhorrent it may be to us.

It is unfortunate that with a shrinking planet an expanding population due to migration, economic need, and trade, the religious practices tend to encroach on our sensibilities.

It is up to the government and the voters to decide whether this need for trade is acceptable. Unfortunately we have accepted many of these religious groups into our country and therefore we have to accept their religious practices. If we're not happy we should learn to ignore it because if we won't learn to live with it we may have major social upheavals within our borders as we have seen in the recent centuries in colonial countries.

It is obvious that some people need to get their priorities in order.

Human cruelity issues has to come before that of animals.

Another example is the abuse of kids the NT report uncovered. How can that happen in a modern society and it is not only in the NT. Pre-school kids with VD and damaged vaginas is enough to make anyone feel sick. Not to mention lice and other infections.

Yet the animal libbers jump up and down about the religious/cultrural slaughter of sheep or whether some puppies tails should be docked. Or mulsing to prevent sheep flystrike.

If there was a fire and animals and kids were in danger, I have no doubt which I would rescue first. In fact been there and done that.

Do any of you know what really goes on in abbotoirs? I've got to confess that I certainly don't. In fact I've never really given it much thought. All I do is go to the butchers and buy my cuts of meat without giving it a second thought. Our family are big meat eaters - always have been. Then that TV news report came on and showed what was being done to some poor animals in Indonesia - and Yikes - it brought some reality into our home. Then again came the plight of the farmers - and here we were torn between a rock and a hard place so to speak. Needless cruelty of any kind seems wrong. Now with religious rituals - again - do any of us know what's really involved? Again, I surely don't. What happens with Kosher? And Halal? and so on. I don't know. I would hope that these practices are part and parcel of ancient rituals and the animals suffer as little as possible. If not, why does the government allow it?

Lexi

I certainly empathise with you. Where stunning has been permitted in both kosher and halal abattoirs, animals are less likely to feel pain. However, panic is another issue altogether and many abattoirs (irrespective of religion) do not have systems where animals are unable to detect what is happening around them.

The Netherlands has called for a ban on all ritual slaughter.

http://arthurdobrin.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/changing-kosher-and-halal-slaughtering-methods%E2%80%94the-moral-case/

The following links to a schematic drawing of more humane ritual slaughter:

http://www.grandin.com/ritual/schematic.html

Perhaps 4 Corners should make a documentary warts and all, of humans
gasping for their last breath as they die, with nobody to end their
suffering. That would speed up the euthanasia debate.

It was actually me who raised the ritual slaughter issue in Australia,
in the last thread. Its a bit hypocritical for Australia to not
practise, what we are preaching to others. Given that the RSPCA
dealt with 277'000 animal cruelty complaints over 5 years, we
are hardly without blemish in this country. The effort should
be better animal welfare everywhere, including the third world.

On this issue I see a difference between cattle and sheep. Even
the Jews acknowledge that killing cattle without stunning is a
problem, so I gather they accept stunning after the first cut.

With sheep its all much more straight forward. Its pretty easy
to kill a sheep with a knife and once blood pressure drops, its
all over pretty quick, as those who faint from low blood pressure
might know. Next we also know that people who have suffered mass
injuries, often don't actually feel them at the time, as endorphins
kick in . Next we have the issue of people all over country Australia
providing their own meat and no, they don't own stun guns.

So once again, its a complex issue, not black and white as many
seem to think.