Animal sacrifice 'should be a thing of the past': PETA spokesperson criticizes Michigan city's ruling

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Animals now legal to be religiously sacrificed in Michigan

PETA spokesperson Ashley Byrne argues why Hamtramck, Michigan, should not be allowed to conduct at-home animal sacrifice on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’

A PETA official is speaking out after Hamtramck, Michigan, approved the religious sacrifice of animals at home for residents of the community.

PETA spokesperson Ashley Byrne joined "Jesse Watters Primetime" to argue why Tuesday's ruling is a "violation" of cruelty and health codes. 

"At PETA, we don't believe in harming animals for any reason, and we encourage anyone who's bothered by this to take a look at what goes on in any slaughterhouse," she said.

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The issue had been voted on in December, but the council did not pass it and the ban on religious sacrifice remained. After a revisit of the ruling, the council passed the practice 3-2. The ruling was 4-2 when Mayor Amer Ghalib submitted his vote.

Byrne highlighted the concern for children witnessing these sacrifices. 

"We have to think about the fact that children are often exposed to these religious rituals," she said. "These animals' throats are slashed and their heads are manually torn from their bodies."

Even with the right to religious freedom in the United States, Byrne suggested there is no reason for animal sacrifice in modern times. 

"[The Constitution] does [protect religious freedom], but animal sacrifice should be a thing of the past because it's cruelty to animals, plain and simple."

Byrne said many Muslims — Hamtramck has a large Muslim community — are adverse to the practice of sacrifice because it is "cruel and unnecessary."

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"We see ritual slaughter in many different places in the country, but we also see people working to find alternate traditions, like some Santería priests use red wine instead of animal blood now," she said. "There are rabbis who encourage their orthodox followers to use money instead of chickens in Kaporos rituals."

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Despite the legality of the ruling, Byrne encouraged benevolent alternatives to the religious practice.

"The point is that there is always a humane alternative, and we encourage people to find those, because whether or not it's legal, it's wrong."