Legal and practical aspects of religious slaughtering in sectional title

17 September 2021 | Lamees Finch

The topic of slaughtering animals within community schemes, specifically within a body corporate has been a contentious topic for many people. When attending to conduct rule amendments we are often asked to remove this rule as it is seen to be inhumane to allow anyone to slaughter an animal in close proximity to someone who would rather not witness the loss of a life. However, in terms of the Amended Practice Directive of 6 May 2020 issued by the Community Schemes Ombud Service (“the CSOS”), slaughtering for cultural and/or religious reasons must be catered for in a scheme’s conduct rules. CSOS has provided a list of conditions that must be met in order for such activity to be carried out within the scheme.

The one aspect that the CSOS did not cover in the list of conditions, is where the slaughtering ritual should take place. As a default, it is our suggestion, that the ritual should be confined to an owner’s section and/or exclusive use are or, as an alternative, should the scheme allow for it, to designate an area on common property for the slaughter to take place.

Shirley Baillie in her article, My thoughts on ritual slaughter in bodies corporate notes the practicalities of trying to carry out the slaughter within a section, like guiding the animal up the stairs to the apartment, and how the cleanliness of the slaughter will be carried out. Those two points alone make it sound impractical however, it doesn’t have to be.

When one thinks of slaughtering an animal for sacrificial purposes, one’s thoughts veer to the African tradition. However, the Islamic religion allows for sacrificial slaughtering (“Qurban” pronounced Korr baan) to take place and specifically at Eid Al-Adha (“Feast of the Sacrifice”) which is an annual celebration of the Islamic faith, remembering the story of Abraham and reminding oneself where the food we eat comes from. The celebration focuses on the pilgrimage to Mecca, giving to those less fortunate and it focuses on sacrifice. The animal of choice is a sheep, as is written in the biblical and Quranic text, that when Abraham went to sacrifice his son Isaac, The Almighty sent a sheep in Isaacs’s place to be slaughtered. This is a tradition that the Islamic faith has practiced since the first sacrifice. The sheep that is slaughtered is shared in three equal parts – for family, friends and for the poor.

The Islamic text provides conditions that must be met when conducting a Qurban, in order for the sacrifice to be accepted by The Almighty. The animal must be more than 6 months old in respect of a sheep and it must be in good health, to not donate “unhealthy” meat. The Qurban may only take place after the Eid prayer has been concluded on the morning of Eid, any time before makes the Qurban insufficient. The one whose intention is to offer the Qurban in order to receive the blessings of the Almighty, must be present and receives the blessings from the first drop of blood. The Qurban is a symbol that the believer is willing to give something up for the sake of his/her creator.

 Further conditions that must be adhered to are the following:

• The animal should be slaughtered with a sharp knife to avoid causing undue suffering;

• The knife should not be sharpened in front of the animal;

• No animal should be slaughtered in the presence of another, and

• The animal must not be tied down

In practice, the Qurban takes place over a hole dug at least 1.8 meters deep. When the first and only cut is done to the jugular, all blood must run into the hole. This along with any inedible part of the animal such as the skin, hooves, intestine, offal, etc must be buried. Once the Qurban is complete, the area where it was conducted must be cleaned, as if no sacrifice took place, no remanence must be visible. This is why it is so important that the location of the Qurban must be conducive to allow for a dignified offering and stress-free offering because the animal’s state of being is just as important as the meaning of the Qurban for the individual making the sacrifice.

An alternative to conducting a Qurban at one’s home, is to have it done at a slaughter house. There are organisations such as the South African National Zakah Fund (“SANZF”) that can assist in finding the closest farm conducting Qurbans on behalf of Muslims who are not able to facilitate the offering at home. They can also assist with the apportionment of the meat and can donate a third or part of the Qurban to the less fortunate.

In both instances mentioned above, the SPCA has conditions that must be met in order to ensure that no animal cruelty is being conducted, in so far as is outside of the Islamic conditions outlined above. The preparation of the Qurban site and where the animal is held prior to the sacrifice is important and must be prepared in advance to ensure no mistakes occur. This is important from a religious perspective and from an animal rights perspective.

The Qurban is not of cruelty or blood thirst.  It is one of sharing, of giving, of caring. The essential nature of the Qurban is that it brings the Muslim believer closer to their Creator, and also brings them closer to their community. And as a direct result, the Qurban brings the community closer together.

The CSOS is cognisant of these religious rights as held in the Constitution, which is the supreme law in South Africa. As such, sectional title schemes are not at liberty to ban the ritual slaughter of animals, as this could be seen as a violation of the right of “freedom of religion”. However, should it be impractical to carry out slaughtering within a section or exclusive use area, where schemes are able to designate a part of common property for this purpose, it should be considered. Should neither of these be an option, SANZF is only but a phone call away.

Should you have any questions on the above, or would like assistance with amending your schemes conduct rules, please contact us on info@tvdmconsultants.com or 061 536 3138.