Guest guest Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2008: The Fatwa of Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi on Slaughter & Transport of Animals Egyptian Society of Animal Friends (30 Korshed St. /Rd. 293, New Maadi, Egypt; <asherbiny; <www.animalfriends.info>, 2008. ANIMAL PEOPLE noted in a June 2008 cover article on the resumption of live animal exports from Australia to Egypt that even if Egypt fails to enforce secular law governing animal transport and slaughter, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the Chief Imam and Shaikh of al-Azhar, Egypt, had issued a fatwa, or religious opinion, meant to reinforce the observance of the intent of the hallal slaughter laws, meant to minimize animal suffering, that are central to Islamic practice. The Egyptian Society of Animal Friends has now published the fatwa as a handbook, also including the " Five Freedoms " and Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare. The " Five Freedoms, " first enumerated in 1967 by a British government-appointed panel, require that all captive animals be guaranteed freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; freedom to express normal behavior; and freedom from fear and distress. The Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, evolving as a proposed item of international legislation for more than 80 years, in present form surrounds the " Five Freedoms " with points of cultural context. The Tantawi fatwa points out that the tenets embodied in the " Five Freedoms " and Universal Declaration are already requirements of Islam, articulated by Mohammed. ESAF published the handbook on the eve of a two-day conference in Cairo on 'The Islamic Principles on Animal Transport and Slaughter, " held just ahead of the annual conference of the World Organization for Animal Health. The latter organization, created by the United Nations, is better known by the French abbreviation OIE. The ESAF conference and publication ceremonies included participation by three senior Islamic scholars from Al-Ahzar University, widely seen as the world's leading institution of Islamic learning; Nasser Farid Wasef, former mufti (chief scholar) for Egypt; the Jordanian minister of religious affairs, and Princess Alia Al Hussein of Jordan. The OIE conference also emphasized the need to improve animal welfare in animal husbandry, transport, and slaughter, and asked the international donor community to help developing nations worldwide to achieve high animal welfare standards. As the delegates to the ESAF and OIE conferences crossed paths in Cairo, the Reuters news syndicate on October 21, 2008 distributed " Under-ground cattle trade thrives in Gaza tunnels, " by Palestinian correspondent Nidal al-Mughrabi. " When the calves were hauled out of the tunnel from Egypt, " the article from Rafah, Gaza began, " they could hardly stand. After a terrifying 1,000-metre underground trip into the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, what the young cattle wanted most was a long drink of cool water. Underground livestock smuggling has increased dramatically ahead of Eid Al-Adha, the day of sacrifice [December 10, 2008] when Muslims slaughter animals and feed the poor to seek God's forgiveness. " Nidal al-Mughrabi interviewed tunnel operator Abu Luqaib, 23, " as his crew pulled a bawling calf up the deep shaft by a simple rope around its middle. The calves cost $350 each plus $250 for the transport, a total of $600 per head, " Nidal al-Mughrabi learned. The traffic is dangerous for humans as well as animals. Just in 2008, more than 45 people have reportedly been killed in cave-ins during smuggling operations. But stressful as the tunnel journey is for calves headed toward sacrifice, it is short, and the calves are watered at the end of it. They may be among the best treated of all the animals who are transported each year for Eid Al-Adha sacrifice: about 700,000 killed at the conclusion of the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, plus two to three million who will be killed either by or on behalf of the 1.3 billion Muslims who remain at home. The ESAF handbook may help those animals, and many more--especially if Muslim consumers join animal advocates in pressuring everyone involved in livestock transport and slaughter to observe the hallal principles, if animals are to be transported and slaughtered at all. --Merritt Clifton -- Merritt Clifton Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE P.O. Box 960 Clinton, WA 98236 Telephone: 360-579-2505 Fax: 360-579-2575 E-mail: anmlpepl Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org [ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations. We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year; for free sample, send address.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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