In his conclusions on Thursday 20 September in Case C-497/17, the advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Nils Wahl, suggests that products from animals subject to ritual slaughter without pre-stunning may receive the European “organic farming” label.
In 2012, the association Oeuvre d’Assistance aux Bêtes d’Abattoirs (OABA) called on the French minister for agriculture and food to ban the use of the “organic farming” label on advertising and packaging for minced beef meat certified as “halal”. Their request was refused by the certifying body concerned.
The association’s requests were also rejected upon appeal. The Versailles Court of Appeal then referred for a preliminary ruling from the CJEU in order to ascertain whether EU law was opposed to this European organic farming label being attached to products from animals subject to ritual slaughter without pre-stunning.
First and foremost, Wahl considers that objecting to such a possibility is not detrimental to freedom of worship, as the religious directives do not make it an obligation for consumers to only buy products from organic farming. He considers that the question of compatibility between the “organic farming” and “halal” certifications should not be posed, as practices within the framework of the “halal” label are not uniform, but that it is necessary to study the compatibility between the organic farming certification and products from animals subject to ritual slaughter without pre-stunning.
In addition, Wahl notes that Regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008 on organic production do not object to animal slaughter without pre-stunning as they only provide for any suffering to be reduced to a minimum during slaughter.
Furthermore, the advocate general states that Regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of slaughter is not opposed to the ritual slaughter of animals without pre-stunning if the necessary measures are taken to attenuate the suffering and distress of animals as far as possible.
The two regulations on organic production do not set any conditions on pre-stunning prior to slaughter in order to benefit from the organic farming label.
The advocate general therefore puts it to the Court that it should take a stance against incompatibility between ritual slaughter without pre-stunning and the delivery of the “organic farming” label. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)