Topic: Controversial Cultural and Religious Practices
Country: Australia
Delegate Name: City High Middle Scool
School: Grand Rapids City High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Australia position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Dietary restrictions such as the requirements of Halal and Kosher foods are mentioned in the prompt. These are religious specifications of Islam and Judaism respectively, and part of them detail the way in which animals must be slaughtered. Shechita is the Jewish process of cutting an animal’s neck with a very sharp knife and with one swift movement, severing the oesophagus, the trachea, carotid arteries and jugular veins.¹ The animal typically dies of a form of hypoxia, as opposed to the blood loss that it is commonly attributed to.² Some activist groups oppose the practice of shechita on the grounds that they believe animals should not be left to die of blood loss.² Australian meat production laws state that animals must be stunned(unconscious) before slaughter. There are eight abattoirs with exemption to these laws for the purposes of kosher meat production. For cows they are required to stun cows post-cut. This is not a requirement for sheep.¹ The exemptions are also used to produce Halal meat, however in Australia for Halal stunning is permitted as long as it is done in a reversible method.³
In Australia, female genital mutilation is a criminal offence in all states and territories, as is removing a child from Australia for the purposes of such.⁴ In a 2018 report it has been claimed that 252% more women have been victims and 367% more girls born have been at high risk of such since 2014.⁵ In 2015, Queensland, a couple was charged with such a crime for the first time, allegedly having been brought to Africa in order to have the procedure done. The case was heard on the 20th of May, 2018.⁶
From these instances I am reading that Australia is against the more damaging controversial practices but willing to work with those that are more humane.
Endnotes and Bibliography: https://pastebin.com/adCcwm2T
