DOWN WITH ANIMAL RITES

The ritual killing of animals, so problematic when the religion is, say, Santeria, is becoming a political hot potato in Britain, as animal welfare campaigners push for an overhaul of rules on kosher and halal slaughter. Essentially, the religious arguments of both Jews and Muslims run thus: God told us we have to kill the animal this way, so even if it's excessively brutal and inhumane, that's just tough. Problem is, most people don't have any moral standing to object to this, funding as they do the wholesale slaughter of animals in conditions that are nearly always inhumane as well. This is obvious in commentaries such as this one on a man who was killing goats in his back yard - at first the editorial "we" were shocked at the cruelty, but then realizing their own complicity in cruel animal slaughter, decided he should instead be admired for providing his own food. Well, no. As with any religious or culturally-sanctioned animal slaughter, just because "we" are also guity doesn't mean "they" should get a free ride, it means "we" should stop doing what makes "us" guilty.