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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 20960
[Civil]
Date Posted:
8/1/2009
4:23:34 pm EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 2,483
RSS: 12,218
Comments: 3
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Court Gives Santeria Priest OK To Sacrifice Goats
Author: Linda Stewart Ball, The Associated Press Source: Washington Post
Title: COURT GIVES SANTERIA PRIEST OK TO SACRIFICE GOATS
A federal appeals court reversed a lower court's ruling on Friday that barred a Santeria priest from sacrificing goats in his Texas home, saying a city's decision to prohibit the ritual violated the man's religious rights.
Jose Merced, 46, accuses the city of Euless, Texas, of trampling on his constitutional right to religious exercise. The city claims the sacrifices jeopardize public health and violate its slaughterhouse and animal cruelty ordinances.
In its ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said the Euless ordinance placed a substantial burden on Merced's "free exercise of religion without advancing a compelling governmental interest using the least restrictive means."
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Community Thoughts: There are 3 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Bad Ordinance; Maybe Real Health Issues | Aug 3rd. at 10:59:04 pm EDT
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Terry (Irvington, Virginia) - Email Me
I did grow up in a farming area where I helped neighbors process meat, and I've handled animals in science labs. I've also followed this case for a few years, and have some impressions but not adequately detailed information about the neighborhood in question.
Based on far too little detail to be sure these are valid conclusions, but enough to suspect they may be, it seems the ordinance imposing blanket restrictions on all slaughter is grossly overbroad as to its de facto impact on religious rituals, even if reasonable for farming for family or commercially in residential zoning or small lot subdivisions, as this appears to be. However, that doesn't mean this priest has the resources to do sacrifices at home of the types present here, without causing legitimate health issues or serious nuisance issues his religious rights do not allow imposing on neighbors.
I suspect the police violated Constitutional law relying on a broad ordinance designed for commercial meat production to disrupt a religious ritual. However, I also suspect this property would fail to prove an ability to comply with narrow health and safety regulations, opening the door for civil court action on narrower grounds, but with due process to review the details and place the burden of proof on the government before any restrictions that could burden religious rituals might be restricted by court order, or a repaired and more narrowly focused animal sacrifice restriction.
Based on established law and Santeros rituals previously reaching Supreme Court precedent, the animal cruelty charges in this case lack that kind of need to balance conflicting issues of law. They're almost unavoidably specious and invalid.
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| It Would Depend | Aug 2nd. at 1:31:26 pm EDT
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Murigen (Graham, Washington) - Email Me
It would depend on how big the sheep and/or goats are. There are small breeds and then most goats and sheep are slaughtered young.
Nine four legged animals is a lot of meat, unless they are young. I don't know of Santeria uses pigs or not but a small pig doesn't feed that many people, not really. If there was a feast at the time of the ritual and then if the remaining meat was set home with everyone it would all be used.
As for clean up, that could be the biggest problem with that many animals at once but again young animals means less offal. A little research of the surrounding area could probably find a place to dispose of it...at a cost. Course if you live on a big enough place you can always dig a big hole! (yes, the last from experience)
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| Good For Him! But... | Aug 2nd. at 9:41:12 am EDT
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Devi Spring (Toronto, Ontario) - Email Me
In reading the article it does say that the initiation of priests requires the sacrifice of up to 9 four-legged animals includings goats and sheep. Towards the end, one of the prosecutors says that there's no way that he can sacrifice that many animals in a sanitary way at his home.
That does bring up an interesting point. I don't know what kind of home the man has or where it is located, so I can't make a good judgement call here. But if the neighbors were complaining about gatherings, then I have to make a guess that he lives in a neighborhood, and not out in the country.
Goats and sheep are not small animals. I can't think of how I would go about slaughtering several of them at my home! There's just not that much room to house multiple goats and sheep, let alone thinking about how I would dispose of them (if we're assuming they are not being cooked and eaten - 9 animals is ALOT of meat) .
So I would be interested to here more about the set-up he has at his home. It does seem that being able to be clean and tidy about these things would be somewhat important. A chicken is small, so I can see that happening in a more suburban setting without too much problem. But goats and sheet are another ballgame.
Of course, I've never lived on a farm or had to slaughter my own food - so perhaps I'm overcomplicating things!
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