NZ’s ban on kosher meats is a disgrace
On 28 May 2010, New Zealand became the fourth country in the world to outlaw shechita, the slaughtering of animals according to Jewish law to produce kosher meat and poultry.
New Zealand’s ban on kosher slaughter isn’t the first – it follows a position first adopted during the 1920s in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, and most infamously by Nazi Germany during the early 1930s.
The New Zealand ban comes about as a direct consequence, apparently deliberate, not to consider kosher slaughter under the new Animal Welfare Commercial Slaughter Code as a humane method, and to disregard the scientific consensus supporting the humaneness of the method. New Zealand’s position not only runs counter to preexisting New Zealand laws, but is also contrary to the legal position in Australia and the United States.
The new Code, announced by New Zealand Agriculture Minister David Carter and prepared by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC), mandates that commercially killed animals must be stunned before slaughter to “ensure that the animals are treated humanely and in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge”. The Code took effect immediately following his announcement on 27 May.
The consequence of the Code is that, effectively, it makes it impossible to produce kosher meat or poultry in New Zealand, as the stunning of an animal prior to slaughter is not permissible under Jewish law. Meat killed in this way cannot be made kosher. Jews in New Zealand have thus had their right to practise their religion totally compromised.
While kosher beef can be imported, Jewish people will have to completely miss out on having chicken in their diet if they want to observe their religion. Due to quarantine restrictions, chickens cannot be brought into New Zealand, meaning that the Code effectively eliminates chicken meat from New Zealand’s observant Jewish family tables.
The New Zealand authorities are demonstrating a hostile lack of understanding of Jewish culture, and of kosher slaughter practices in particular.
The original purpose of the Code was to set minimum standards to be met by persons in charge of the slaughtering of animals. The Code is given legal force by the relevant provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (NZ). The Act states that its guiding principles are to ensure that owners of animals and persons in charge of animals attend properly to the welfare of those animals, including taking all reasonable steps to ensure that the physical, health, and behavioural needs of the animals are met in accordance with both (i) good practice; and (ii) scientific knowledge.
The report on the Code specifically recommended that in order to balance animal welfare and religious rights of Jewish people the Shechita could be regarded as an exceptional circumstance (page 23 of the report). Nonetheless, the Agriculture Minister went ahead and removed the dispensation without further consultation.
How can a piece of legislation, aimed at protecting animal welfare, detract from the human right to freely practise religion? Was this an unintended consequence – just a significant oversight on the part of the Government? I believe it was deliberate, and very unfortunate, and needs to be reviewed if the government is not to follow dangerous precedents.
Section 13 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 expressly states that “everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief, including the right to adopt and hold opinions without inference”, while Section 14 expressly states that “everyone has the right to manifest that person’s religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, or teaching, either individually or in community with others, and either in public or in private”. By making animal slaughter practices that are unacceptable to adherents of the Jewish religion mandatory, the Code could well breach their human rights under these provisions.
New Zealand’s Agriculture Minister, David Carter, a cattle breeder with more than 30 years farming experience, has previously been a vocal advocate on animal welfare issues, as expressed in a speech last year.
The timing of this move to put kosher meat out of business in New Zealand comes, ironically, only a couple of months since the opening of New Zealand’s first religious orthodox restaurant in downtown Christchurch, a short ride down State Highway 75 from the NZ Agriculture Minister’s electoral office. While the Kosher Kitchen restaurant, operated by distinctively-bearded members of the orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, has specialised in a non-meat menu, the ban obviously prevents any prospect of the small Jewish community’s new restaurant expanding and venturing into meat-based meals
The New Zealand authorities are demonstrating a hostile lack of understanding of Jewish culture, and of kosher slaughter practices in particular. This is a slippery slope for any government, as it follows a historical pattern of oppressive anti-semitic regulation. The effect will be to place pressures on observant New Zealand Jews to leave their country. Forget any Jewish jokes about chicken soup – Jewish people are simply to be banned from their religious practices, under the guise of protecting animal rights. What about human rights?
At last! Some sensible comment on the bizarre New Zealand ban.
I picked up this comment from another web site,it extols my opinion
An animal killed under shechitah loses consciousness immediately, it’s actually one of the most humane and least painful methods of slaughter going. Consider one of the reasons why kosher and halal meat is healthier — it’s lower in testosterone and cortisol than conventionally-slaughtered meat because the animal is under less stress.
The shochet (ritual slaughterer) is highly trained, mindful that he is taking a life, and careful that the knife is sharp and flawless, with no nicks to impede the process and bring pain to the animal.
In contrast, the reason why modern slaughterhouses use stunning is because they can kill more animals in less time. Animals that lose consciousness from the severance of arteries and windpipe don’t wake up. Those who pass out from the impact of a bolt gun or electric current often do.
Do you know how chickens and turkeys are slaughtered? They’re tied by their feet upside to an assembly line and their heads are run through an electrified pool of water. They die primarily by cardiac arrest.
Which is more humane? A quick sharp slice or waterboarding?
I find it strange that a country like New Zealand is using Nazi Germany to justify the ban against the Jewish ritual slaughter of kosher animals. Nazi Germany, the country that is responsible for the deaths of more than 10,000,000 million innocent people are a legitimate source. Are you crazy or just making a lame argument trying to grasp at straws?
Arguing the legitimacy of this ban is based on contravention of law that exist in either Australia or the United States is untrue and inaccurate. If it was contrary to Australian or US law, it would make the koshering of these animals illegal. IT IS NOT ILLEGAL. What happened to the required fact checking that is necessary for any article?
I do find it interesting that you determine the whole Jewish community in New Zealand to be “distinctively-bearded members of the orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement.” That catagorisation sounds like a discriminatory comment that marginalises the jewish community in New Zealand based on physical appearance. Judaism is a religion that is not characterised by physical appearance but is a set of beliefs. Yet you identify jews by their physical appearance. Isn’t that illegal in New Zealand? It is in Australia and in the US.
Maybe more effort should be made examining the facts of the matter rather than ranting about nonsense and misinterpretation of the ill informed opinions. I strongly suggest someone conducting some more fact checking.
NZ have got it right!
A stun bolt will kill the animal instantly or at least render it unconscious. I have slaughtered an injured lamb before and the idea of keeping it conscious would have been reprehensible. My father (who is a surgeon) told me it would be most humane to knock it unconscious before cutting its throat to bleed it.
It goes without saying that the equipment that the abattoirs have is far superior to the way we were forced to knock the lamb unconscious. (It is all gruesome no matter how one looks at it, but the issue of preventing suffering MUST be discussed).
It is absurd to say that keeping an animal conscious as its throat is cut is MORE humane. REALLY!!! Pull the other one!
The fact that it is done for superstitious reasons is utterly repugnant. To say this should be allowed for “religious freedoms” is like saying that you curtail the religious freedoms of fundamentalist christians when you tell them they can’t bash gays and therefore gay bashing should be allowed too if done for religious reasons!
Personally NZ should also ban the IMPORTING of any meats (including kosher and halal) where there is sufficient evidence that an animal has unnecessarily suffered when slaughtered.
I wish Australia would follow suit and not be too scared of upsetting the “religious sensibilities” of minority groups (whatever their religion be) who take their teachings from stone age stories.
I am sorry that the Jewish people are affected this way in NZ, it is an offensive piece of legislation and an unneeded law.
I would like to be able to kosher slaughter my cattle for them.
I think it is less about animal welfare and more about politics.
Chris….you are an uneducated idiot. I was a vegetarian before I saw Kosher up close. The animal suffers nothing, the knife is ultra-razor sharp. You are an example of someone who just doesn’t know what you are talking about. I cannot believe how these misinformed idiots get on the band wagon and pick on Jews for eating Kosher meat. get a life. Have you ever been to a non-kosher chicken factory? I have, every now and again a chicken misses the knife and goes through the whole process alive. That is, until it gets cooked alive in the boiling water these use to take off the feathers. Have you ever seen Pigs slaughtered? Have a look at a piggery, that is, if they will actually let you in to the kill room at the piggery, then observe Kosher slaughtering and tell me which one is more human? You are just and idiot like your two headed new zealand cousins
If jews claim to be humane and the most inteligent people than stop be sadistic by asking kosher meal . to hell do what majorty australians do . stunt animals before kill
Wooohooo!!! Look at this: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10690598
Us Israelites are in the pound seats again! Baruch haShem!
By the way Muslims also oppose the stunning of animals. Read the article above and see for yourself.