Don't you think animal rights come before religious rituals?

[Atarah Derek]

Rights are something handed down by the highest authorities. As stewards of our world, we humans have authority over the animals. Which means that our rights come first. We do NOT have the right to torture animals, but we do have the right to use them as we would any other resource in our world. We are stewards; we are leasing this planet, which means that while we can modify it as we please, we are also charged with leaving it better than we found it.

So what does this mean for animals? We can slaughter them for consumption, euthanize them when they become so old and sick that they spend every waking hour in pain, and use their products (fur, eggs, meat, etc.) to better our lives. So long as we understand and respect their beauty and importance in this world. Torturing an animal does nothing to benefit us, and it only puts the animal in a lot of unnecessary pain. Therefore we don't have the right to do it.

As for religions that slaughter animals as part of their rituals, this is acceptable so long as the carcass is put to use instead of being wasted (wasting resources is bad stewardship, and any religion that condones it is wrong; in the Old Testament, the priests were given part of the sacrifice to eat), and so long as the animal is dispatched using the most humane method available. Slitting a goat's jugular and letting it bleed out is a common practice in communities that rely on that goat's meat, and it's relatively painless for the animal. So it's not unacceptable to use this method when preparing an animal for sacrifice. If that's how you are permitted to kill it before you eat it, that's how you are permitted to kill it before you sacrifice it.