How much slaughterhouses kill animals “ethically”?
In the laws of Judaism, cruelty to animals is forbidden, and animals who die with suffering and/or torturous methods are rendered “trayf” or unfit for consumption, even if they are animals that are listed as “kosher”. This answer is not easy for me to write, but I think it’s time more Jews speak out on this issue openly. This is an issue that I feel very strongly about because it touches at the heart of Jews living up to our values. Some may consider this hypocritical since I’ve never kept a kosher home, but I have always tried to honor the value of Torah prohibiting cruelty to animals and obligating acts of compassion and proper treatment of animals. Two years ago Rabbi Haviva Ner-David wrote in the July 9 issue of The Jerusalem Report: “Truth be told, if we consider complying with the requirements of tza’ar ba’alei hayim a requirement for meat to be considered’kosher,’ today’s food industry renders all meat production non-kosher… Today, mass production has taken over. Under these con
