Finnish Court Hears Illegal Halal Slaughter Case Involving 2,500 Sheep

A court in Finland began hearing a case of alleged illegal Halal slaughter of up to 2,500 sheep this week, with prosecutors claiming the animals were slaughtered without being stunned beforehand in accordance with the law.

The animal welfare trial began this week in the District Court of Ostrobothnia in Western Finland and involves the main defendant accused of a felony animal welfare offence and then others accused of lesser charges.

The main suspect in the case, a man from Ostrobothnia, is believed to have taken part in slitting the throats of around 2,500 sheep, performing halal slaughter, which is illegal in Finland unless the animal being slaughtered is stunned first, broadcaster Yle reports.

“The case is exceptionally extensive when compared to similar cases that have already been heard in court,” Special Prosecutor Jarmo Rintala told the broadcaster and added, “The number of animals speaks of exceptionalism. There are many defendants, but not all of them are on trial for the same thing. There is the main defendant and other defendants. Not everyone is charged with a felony animal welfare offence.”

According to Yle, several of the defendants are not native speakers of Finnish and will require translators, which could stretch out the length of the trial. While eight days have been assigned for processing the case, a verdict is not expected until at least January.

Finland is not the only country in Europe to have restrictions or bans on halal slaughter and other ritual forms of slaughter that refuse to stun the animal beforehand.

In October of last year, Greece’s Council of State, the country’s top administrative court, banned ritual slaughter and stated that halal and kosher slaughter practices were against both Greek animal welfare laws and against European Union laws.

In Belgium, where only portions of the country have banned ritual slaughter, the Executive of the Muslims of Belgium (EMB) and the Coordinating Council of Islamic Institutions of Belgium (CIB) appealed the issue to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to overturn the bans in the regions of Flanders and Wallonia.

Earlier this year in September, however, the Belgian government revoked its recognition of the EMB over a lack of transparency and mismanagement.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.