HAMTRAMCK (WWJ) -- After public comment and some impassioned debate, the Hamtramck City Council has voted to allow animal sacrifices for religions purposes, as long as certain conditions are met.
In a 4-2 vote, councilmembers Tuesday evening approved amending an ordinance to allow residents to perform animal sacrifices at home as part of religious ceremonies.
Under the amendment, ritual animal sacrifice are allowed provided that the people performing the sacrifices register with the city and submit to city inspections.
The Detroit News reports that the council chambers were packed with resident during public comment on the issue that lasted more than three hours.
Those speaking out against the measure included a longtime resident and butcher, Yoshiro Lee, who said, "I know what happens if amateurs kill," the Detroit News reported. Others opposed expressed concerns about environmental hazards, health hazards, and trauma to children who may witness the act.
Those speaking in favor of the amendment noted that these practices — which can included the slaughter of goats or sheep as part of a religious ceremony — are protected by federal law, and that the city could be sued if it does not allow them.
Under the First Amendment, cities cannot infringe upon a person's religious freedoms. The city’s attorney explained, according to WXYZ-TV, that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that ritual animal sacrifice falls within those protections.
Michigan law also allows for what it calls "ritual slaughter," stating that the animal must first be made insensible to pain, or rendered unconscious before it is slaughtered "in accordance with a humane method."
In Hamtramck, which is said to be the first U.S. city to have an all-Muslim City Council as well as a Muslim mayor, Mayor Amer Ghalib said there has been good number of people fighting hard for this freedom.
Ghalib, who was elected in 2021, called Tuesday's decision "the best compromise."
“We don't want to restrict religious freedoms and we don't want to keep it random without regulations,” Ghalib said. He added, however, that although animal sacrificed will allowed he did not expect too many residents to take up the practice.
Animal sacrifice is practiced as part of a handful of religions, especially around the holidays.
According to Muslim Aid, the tradition for Eid al-Adha, or the “Festival of Sacrifice" involves slaughtering an animal and sharing the meat in three equal parts – for family, for relatives and friends, and for poor people. The goal is to make sure everyone gets to eat meat.
Hamtramck is a small city of around 28,000 residents, completely surrounded by the city of Detroit. While Hamtramck is known for its diversity, the most recent U.S. Census data shows that about half of Hamtramck residents are are Muslim.
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