your-god-is-too-small May. 2016 | Page 193

When an animal is dead, the heart stops, and the blood doesn’t flow. (It does drain a little, but there is no pressure behind it.) Frankly, all slaughter is brutal, and the people consistently doing it necessarily have to be numbed to the pain and terror of the animal in order to do their jobs. There is no “good” way to handle this, but I would contend that those who slaughter animals on private farms and in hunting are usually much better at handling animals humanely than those in commercial slaughterhouses, perhaps in part because the latter group usually has more regard for the animals since they slaughter animals less frequently. Those commercial operations that are required to render the animal unconscious before killing it are far more humane than traditional Kosher or Halal slaughters. We routinely protect animals from undue pain and cruelty, but for religion we make an exception. It’s time to stop this. As with other activities impacting animals that are now considered to be crimes, we need to bring the standards of the religious up to the rest of us when it comes to their cultural morals. Kosher and Halal slaughter should be outlawed as the inarguably cruel practice that it is (and this was recently done in Denmark). This form of slaughter is not allowed in many countries, except for religious reasons. The exemption must go. Terminate Legal Religious Requirements – In many states and also in other countries, there are legal requirements that holders of political office must possess, like believing in a god, sometimes even of a certain religion. In courts, people are re quired to swear on religious tomes, as if lightning actually strikes every party guilty of perjury. It’s an outdated superstitious practice. You might as well swear on a prostitute’s ass, which would at least be a more enjoyable tactile experience than having your hand on a book–-and it would be just as effective. P a g e | 193