NEW ZEALAND'S BAN ON KOSHER SLAUGHTERING

Abstract

In May 2010 New Zealand’s government, in the interest of animal welfare, required that all animals slaughtered for commercial purposes be stunned before being killed. This rule effectively banned the Jewish practice of slaughtering, which requires that a kosher animal (e.g., cloven hooves, chews the cud, is in good health, etc.), be killed by a trained butcher who slits its throat with one stroke of an extremely sharp knife. A stunned animal (i.e., one shocked electrically), if not already dead, is considered injured and unhealthy, and, therefore, not kosher for slaughter. The government’s position was due to recommendations by New Zealand’s National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee and studies by veterinary scientists. Members of the small Jewish community went to New Zealand’s High Court alleging that the ban infringed on their constitutional rights. The issue of humane animal treatment versus civil liberties proved to be much more involved and also instructive as a local example of cultural politics.