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Sydney - After Review Kosher Shechitah Allowed to Continue In Australia |
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News Source: Australian Jewish News By PETER KOHN
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Shechitah, or Jewish ritual slaughter, has historically been asserted as the most humane method of killing animals for food.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) made this claim in its submissions to the review, initiated by the former government in 2007.
Despite the findings, the ECAJ argued 
in its submission that shechitah, which involves slitting an animal’s throat, minimises the animal’s pain before death and there is no proof that electric stunning reduces any pain felt.
ECAJ president Robert Goot said his organisation requested that the inquiry preserve existing regulations for animal slaughter that allow for shechitah, as well as for Islamic ritual slaughter practices.
“The ECAJ has been in active discussion with the government departments responsible for these matters for almost 12 months,” he said.
Religious authorities are presently exempt from using electric stunning during slaughter, a practice that is stipulated by the standards but not permitted by kashrut.
Animal rights groups, support electric stunning during slaughter, with no exemptions.
Leaked results stated the inquiry found that ritual slaughter causes animals “pain and distress”, but did not oppose the practice.
Meanwhile, Goot has rejected discontent among some rabbis that the ECAJ submissions had not been comprehensively sourced.
The AJN understands there is some dissatisfaction among rabbis, who claim that the roof body did not consult widely enough with rabbinical experts on shechitah before making its submissions.
However, the Rabbinical Council of Victoria, whose rabbis have been among the ECAJ’s critics, released a statement saying its members have been involved in negotiations with the ECAJ on the matter.
Goot said the ECAJ’s stance reflects Australian Orthodox rabbinical opinion.
“The ECAJ position, as most recently put to the Primary Industries Ministerial Committee, is a submission with which the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia concurs, and its members concur.”
He said there had been wide consultation with the rabbinate on the matter and “to my knowledge, there is no disagreement with the position that has been put as recently as September 18, 2009, by the ECAJ”.
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Read Comments (8) — Post Yours »
1
Oct 12, 2009 at 10:55 PM Anonymous Says:
During a glatt shechita, there should be no pain or suffering for the animal, especially if it a schlachthois with chassideshe hashgacha.
2
Oct 12, 2009 at 11:32 PM az Says:
“ During a glatt shechita, there should be no pain or suffering for the animal, especially if it a schlachthois with chassideshe hashgacha. ”
To be honest, it is foolish to say that there is "NO" pain or suffering during shechitah. As a shochet, when I am shechtiing a chicken, I have אמונה שלימה that the aibishter who gives life, also gave us the means and regulations to take it. Painless, I doubt it, least pain, no doubt.
BTW, there is no difference between a glatt kosher shechita and non glatt!!!. You only find out about it after the animal is dead.
3
Oct 13, 2009 at 12:17 AM Milhouse Says:
This article is almost incomprehensible, even if one already knows what it's about; I can only imagine what a reader who doesn't know the background would get from it. In Australia regulations ALREADY require stunning AFTER shechita; the animal "rights" propagandists aren't satisfied with that, and demand stunning BEFORE shechita, which would make the animals treifos. BH they have once again failed, even if the real reason is that Australia doesn't want to lose the halal export business.
4
Oct 12, 2009 at 11:53 PM Anonymous Says:
For a country that considers eating kangaroos as a delicacy, they have some chutzpa to even consider banning kosher shechita.
5
Oct 13, 2009 at 03:37 AM Aussie ExPat Says:
As an aussie expat i can assure you that most regular people do not eat kangaroo not only orthodox jews! It is sold as dog food and few people consider it a delicacy. Australian meat is the best i have ever tasted the freshest and the melbourne meat has a superb hechsher under the Ruv Beck - from Satmar.
6
Oct 13, 2009 at 10:00 AM Anonymous Says:
“ As an aussie expat i can assure you that most regular people do not eat kangaroo not only orthodox jews! It is sold as dog food and few people consider it a delicacy. Australian meat is the best i have ever tasted the freshest and the melbourne meat has a superb hechsher under the Ruv Beck - from Satmar. ”
Thats OK.. Beck is the Rav of Adass Israel Kehillah and appears competent to render a kosher shechita consistent with chassideshe standards.
7
Oct 13, 2009 at 11:28 AM Anonymous Says:
“ Thats OK.. Beck is the Rav of Adass Israel Kehillah and appears competent to render a kosher shechita consistent with chassideshe standards.
”
There are some litvashe shochtim who are equally capable of providing a kosher shechita that approaches what is called cahssideshe stanards. I know the chassideshe fans think their shechita is subtantially more machmir but there are orthodox jews throughout the world who are comfortable eating meat that was shechted by a misnaged.
8
Oct 13, 2009 at 05:00 PM Anonymous Says:
“ There are some litvashe shochtim who are equally capable of providing a kosher shechita that approaches what is called cahssideshe stanards. I know the chassideshe fans think their shechita is subtantially more machmir but there are orthodox jews throughout the world who are comfortable eating meat that was shechted by a misnaged. ”
I am proudly one of them!