CHAI CALLS ON
ISRAEL'S
CHIEF RABBIS AND
AGRICULTURE MINISTRY |
TO BAN CRUELTY OF SHACKLING AND HOISTING |
In response to the recent revelations of extreme cruelty to animals in South American slaughterhouses that use the method of restraining animals called shackling and hoisting, at the request of CHAI/Hakol Chai, Jerusalem Rabbi Adam Frank appealed to Israel's Chief Rabbis, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar, to issue a psak (ruling) banning shackling and hoisting in favor of less inhumane methods of restraint, as kosher laws prohibit unnecessary cruelty to animals.
"I call on the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and all shechita supervising
institutions worldwide to act to eliminate this unnecessarily cruel method
of restraining animals during the kosher slaughter process," said Rabbi
Frank.
Shackling and hoisting consists of placing a metal cuff on one ankle of a
cow and hoisting the animal to the ceiling by the cuffed ankle. The
conscious, terrified animals dangle in the air in horrendous agony, waiting
for their throats to be slit, as their muscles and tendons tear and their
body weight can literally rip their hip joints out of their sockets
Shackling and hoisting is no longer practiced in the U.S.,
but it is still practiced in slaughterhouses around the world, including in
kosher slaughterhouses.
The Rabbinical Council of
America, the largest Orthodox Rabbinic authority, endorsed a pen to replace
the shackling and hoisting method, which supports the animals' bodies while
they bleed out.
Officials responsible for slaughterhouse practices within Israel, both
in Israel's Veterinary Services and in the Rabbinate, told CHAI/Hakol Chai that shackling and hoisting does not exist in slaughterhouses
within Israel. The Veterinary Services' inspector of South American
slaughterhouses that ship to Israel, and the rabbi within the Rabbinate
responsible for conditions in South American slaughterhouses declined to
answer our questions.
Israel imports at least 30% of its frozen meat from kosher slaughterhouses in South
America, the majority of which use shackling and
hoisting as a method of restraining animals. CHAI/Hakol Chai call on Israel's
Ministry of Agriculture to ban this cruel method of restraint.
 |
Photo of a fully conscious, writhing steer, from a video of
kosher slaughter taken inside a Uruguayan slaughterhouse in
October 2007. The video reveals cattle killed using the shackle
and hoist method. Uruguay is the number one exporter of kosher
meat to both the United States and Israel. Source: PETA |
According to a report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), meat, not cars, is the number one cause of global
warming. It is also a major source of land and water degradation. The UN's
Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made
up of hundreds of climate change scientists worldwide, noted the importance
of lifestyle changes in meeting the challenge of global warming.
"Please eat less meat," said IPCC representative, economist Rajendra
Pachauri, adding that a meat-based diet also has negative consequences for
human health.
For more information, read Rabbi Adam Frank's
letter to the Chief Rabbis and his op-ed report.
Please write to the Chief Rabbis and the Minister of Agriculture and urge
them to ban shackling and hoisting.
Sample Letter
Please end the cruel practice of shackling and hoisting in
slaughterhouses that ship to Israel from South America.
Shackling and hoisting is no longer used in U.S.
slaughterhouses, and the
Rabbinical Council of America
has authorized the use of a pen in its place that causes
less suffering.
|
Rabbi Shlomo Amar
Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel
Beit Yahav
80 Yirmiyahu St.
POB 36, Jerusalem, Israel
Fax: 011-972-2-5377872
rabbis@rabbinate.gov.il
Rabbi Yona Metzger
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel
Beit Yahav
80 Yirmiyahu St.
POB 36, Jerusalem, Israel
Fax:
011-972-2-5377872
rabbis@rabbinate.gov.il
Shalom Simhon
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
HaKirya HaHaklait, P.O. Box 30, Beit-Dagan 50250, Israel
Fax: 03-9485835
ssimhon@knesset.gov.il
A Sacred Duty:
Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World
In light of the cruelties of
animal slaughter and the threat of global warming, CHAI contributed to the
production of the documentary film A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values
to Help Heal the World, produced by The Jewish Vegetarian Society of
North America. The film applies religious teachings to how we obtain food,
use natural resources, and live among our fellow living beings, and it shows
why a shift toward plant-based diets is an essential part of efforts to
reduce global climate change.
JVNA will send a free copy to anyone who will help arrange a screening or
help promote the movie in some other way. To help, contact Richard Schwartz
at: President@JewishVeg.com.
View the video here:
www.jewishveg.com/asacredduty. Read more about factory farming on CHAI’s
website:
www.chai-online.org/factoryfarming.htm.
Please donate to CHAI and Hakol Chai's work on behalf of Israel's
animals.
Send
your tax-deductible donations to:
CHAI, POB 3341, Alexandria, VA 22302, USA, or
donate through our
website.

Yours for a more compassionate world,

Nina Natelson
CHAI - Concern for Helping Animals in Israel PO Box 3341, Alexandria, VA 22302
Email:
chai_us@cox.net
Phone:
703-658-9650
Web:
http://www.chai-online.org
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