Animal slaughter must go on: Commission

Communities should continue to slaughter animals as a religious and cultural practice, says the Commission on the Rights of Culture and Religion

Commission chairman Wesley Mabuza said conflict between animal rights activists and traditionalists were brought about by misunderstanding.

“They should listen to each other to understand one another,” he  said at the launch of guidelines on African ritual animal slaughter.

The Commission researched animal slaughter for ritual ceremony after the outcry over ANC heavyweight Tony Yengeni’s slaughtering of a bull in a cleansing ceremony following his release from prison. Animal rights activists objected to the slaughter on the grounds  that the practice constituted cruelty to animals.

Mabuza said traditionalists believed the ritual was part of their culture and that objection to it was an infringement on their  rights to freely practice their religion.

The Commission recommended that communities continue to slaughter animals for cultural and religious purposes, but that care be taken to consider the rights of other people who might be sensitive to the practice.