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presents
MIAMI (AP) 8/1/89
Keyed by Fetal Juice
Toxic File #80
Church Challenges Animal Sacrifice Laws
An afro-Cuban sect that slaughters chickens, turtles and
sometimes goats as part of its ritual is challenging a town's ban on
the practice, saying it violates religious freedom.
A trial began last week in the federal lawsuit filed by Santeria
priest Ernesto Pichardo and his Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye in
suburban Hialeah, the first known church in the usually secretive
sect.
The dispute between the Santeria church and the town of Haileah
raises questions of religious persecution and animal cruelty as it
delves into the most unsetteling Santeria ritual - animal sacrifice.
Experts on Santeria and its practitioners have said that human
bones are not part of any Santeria ritual. But chickens, pigeons,
doves and turtles, and occasionally goats and pigs, are sacrificed for
the initation of priests, in faith-healaing and for help in love,
buisness and family affairs.
Sometimes, the animal remains are cooked and eaten, but in some
cases they are left by roadsides or in other public places.
The trial in Pichardo's lawsuit began Monday (7/30/89) and will
continue this week. U.S. District Judge Eugene Spellman is hearing the
case without a jury.
Officals in Hialeah, a predominatly Hispanic city on the edge of
Miami, deny that their efforts to limit Santeria rituals amount to an
attack on religion. Instead, they cite such factors as the
possibility of infection spread by animal carcasses, cruelty to
animals, and the danger that childern who witness the sacrifices will
be psychologically scarred.
In court documents, city attorneys noted that bans on snake
handling and mairjuana smoking have been upheald even when the acts
are considered an integral element of religion.
Santeria, believed to have more then 50,000 followers in the
Miami area, had its origins in the region of Africa that is now
Nigeria. It was carrid by slaves to Cuban sugar plantations, adopted
many Roman Catholic saints as guardians and evolved into a folk
religion that remains largely underground. Most adherents are Cubans
or Cuban-Americans.
Pichardo, 34, says he is trying to remove the stigma against the
religion as a low-class practice and institutionalize its rituals,
which previously have been performed largely in private homes.
After he announced plans for his church in 1987, the city delayed
its opening with extensive zoning and building code requirements.
"Once we complied with everything they threw at us, then it
became an animal sacrifice issue," said Pichardo
The council voted to outlaw sacrifices, allow animal slaughter
only for human consumption, prohibit the possession of animals for
slaughter or sacrifice, and incorporate the state animal crulty law in
city ordinances.
(c)opied from the goddamn NEWSPAPER!! Fetal Juice/Toxic Shock July 1990