Santeria Controversy

I do not wish to choose sides in this debate, as I believe that both animal rights groups and the practitioners of these religions hold respectable moral positions on the problem. What should be pointed out before hasty decisions are made is that outlawing such practices comes under the mistaken assumption that, armed with such laws, we can stop such practices. A law against animal sacrifice in religious ceremonies is basically unenforceable. The rituals are held in such seclusion that any law aimed at preventing them would be irrelevant. Also the idea that we may make outlaws of well-meaning “priests” who are slaughtering animals in a humane manner and consuming their flesh, while at the same time the rest of us continue to eat meat that we bought at the store, is elitist.

BRANT C. HADAWAY

Los Angeles