Vegans are annoying but occasionally right

Vegans can be a terribly tiresome lot and you probably don’t want to be seated next to one at a dinner party but, on the whole, they are among the more principled activists in this age of virtue-signalling clicktivism.

Belgium should be applauded for taking practical steps to decrease animal suffering. It is an important win for animal rights and far more realistic than expecting people to quit eating meat altogether.

Vegans can be a terribly tiresome lot and you probably don’t want to be seated next to one at a dinner party but, on the whole, they are among the more principled activists in this 
age of virtue-signalling clicktivism.

They don’t just preach and hector, they actually do, and their objectives are usually good.

Most Australians care deeply about animal welfare whether it’s pets, wildlife or livestock but many of us would rather not think too much about where our meat comes from and how it is slaughtered.

We want to believe that livestock is well cared for and killed in the most humane way possible but the truth is many would rather turn a blind eye to the reality of factory farming and slaughterhouse practices.

Generations to come will look back at our treatment of livestock and wonder how people who were so concerned with animal rights could tolerate such widespread cruelty.

One country that has taken steps to reduce animal suffering is Belgium which has banned religious slaughtering practices.

From the start of January it is no longer legal to kill animals without stunning them first in the Flanders region with the ban coming into effect in the southern region in September.

Only the Brussels region will be unaffected by the bans which effectively mean Jewish kosher and Muslim halal slaughter is illegal.

Those wishing to purchase halal or kosher meat in other parts of Belgium will likely pay more as the products will have to be imported.

It’s a move that has outraged many in the Jewish and Muslim communities but is said to enjoy widespread support among Belgians.

After all, animal cruelty is animal cruelty whether it’s in the name of religion or not.

Archaic religious beliefs should not be used to justify inhumane practices and the Belgian laws mirror what has been implemented in some other European countries including Iceland, Norway and Slovenia.

Read full piece here.