The annual moose hunting is a popular Swedish tradition. Once a year, tens of thousands of men (and a few women) enter the woodlands with their dogs searching for the wild animal. When the dogs sniff a moose out, the hunters cock their rifles and begin to shoot. Since most moose hunters are lousy amateurs, few bullets kill the animal instantly. Instead, the moose runs bleeding in pain and agony through the forest with the dogs and hunters following close behind. When the animal finally collapses, one of the proud hunters picks up his knife and slits its throat.

In an article published by Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, two women—Jeanette Thelander and Katarina Lingehag-Ekholm—are demonising slaughter procedures that follow Jewish and Islamic law by describing them as cruel and undignified. The two Swedish women are upset because religious minorities are joining forced with liberals who wish to see the legalization of ritual slaughter. The Jewish shechita and Muslim dhabihah—which are the rules for ritual slaughter—both prescribe that an animal should be killed by allowing its blood to drain out. This should be done by a deep cut with a sharp knife across the animal’s throat. In other words, it’s done precisely the same way most Swedish moose hunters kill their prey—which is also a ritual killing, although not one based on religious scriptures.

I have discussed this issue many times, and what bothers me the most is that Swedes tend to get very emotional over animal welfare only when minority cultures or foreign countries are involved. The Swedish majority culture, with its savage hunting tradition, is never called into question. Thelander and Lingehag-Ekholm are no different. They argue the same xenophobic case as always.