Friday, January 07, 2005

Animal Sacrifice

It may be time to write an article on this issue.

Fair Warning: The article linked to below is not for sensitive people.

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Someone wrote: "If sacrificing a rooster, or kitten (yuck) , is part of the accepted practices of a particular faith who are we to comdem it?"

I wrote this reply, and DragonLady posted it:

We are the very people who will speak out against it because Witches speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

State Laws against animal cruelty are upheld, as long as they are neutral (i.e. they do not specifically target a religion, but prohibit anyone for doing this).
Reasons include:

* the health risk of animal sacrifices to participants,
* the emotional injury to children who witnessed the sacrifices,
* the need to protect animals from unnecessary killings,
* and the need to restrict the slaughter of animals to areas zoned for slaughterhouse use

According to the First Amendment Center and other experts, if the law is written correctly, the prohibition of ritual sacrifice IS constitutional. (see link). So yes, we can ban this.

Torture and blood sacrifice is not culture. It is not religion. It is not sacred on any level. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who wants to sacrifice a kitten is welcome to state that publicly. Just tell us when and where. I will make some phone call and among the people who will arrest you will be some Pagans Cops and Pagan Animal Control Officers.

Those of us who work to protect these creatures have no patience with woolly-minded thinking like this. Grow up and do some good in this life and stop being part of the problem.

If you want to hunt in an ethical fashion, fine. But if you want a blood sacrifice, use your own. No Warrior God/ess respects cowards and fools. And they don't take bribes.

Sia

P.S. If you actually want to learn something about Animal Rights Law, then read the attached link on the legality of animal sacrifice in the U.S.

P.S.S. Some cultures take a young boy's member and split it down the middle as part of their right of manhood. It's call subincision. If you want to make a real sacrifice and you are an adult, you might want to try that one. Or is it just the pain of other creatures that you support?

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