Kosher describes what is ‘fit and proper’ for people of the Jewish faith to eat. It gives a range of beverages and foods (including meat) that are acceptable. Kosher food laws are based on interpretation of the Bible and the Torah, the Judaic scriptures. Jews are forbidden to consume blood.
Kosher meat must be slaughtered in a particular way, so the rabbi in a kosher meat plant is a specially trained religious slaughterer. The animal must be killed so it feels little pain. A sharp knife is used to cut the oesophagus, the trachea, carotid arteries and jugular veins in one action. Excessive pressure on the blade is forbidden. The animal is raised so blood flows out and this is then covered with dirt. Failure to do any of these acts correctly means the animal is unfit to eat.
A standard for meat production in Australia is that all animals must be effectively stunned prior to slaughter. However, there are instances where the relevant state or territory meat-inspection authority can approve an abattoir for ritual slaughter for the domestic market. Requirements for this type of slaughter – including kosher slaughter – are set out in a nationally adopted guideline Ritual Slaughter for Ovine (Sheep) and Bovine (Cattle). In kosher slaughter, pre-slaughter stunning is not permitted.
Cattle must be stunned with a captive-bolt pistol immediately after the throat is cut. If there are any difficulties restraining the animal while cutting its throat, then it must be stunned immediately. For religious slaughter of sheep, the guideline requires cutting both the carotid arteries and the jugular veins. This must be confirmed — if they are not completely severed, then the animal must be immediately stunned.
Cattle and sheep requirements are different because cattle have an extra blood supply to the brain through the back of the neck. Therefore, cutting cattle’s throats results in less-rapid loss of consciousness.
The RSPCA is concerned there are greater risks of animal suffering during this type of religious slaughter than for conventional slaughter. Fortunately, the number of animals involved is a tiny percentage of all animals killed. The method is distressing to the animal due to:
The use of stunning during the slaughter process can remove some, but not all, of these concerns.
During conventional poultry slaughter in Australia, birds are shackled upside down, stunned in an electrified water bath and then their throats are cut with an automatic blade. In kosher slaughter, pre-slaughter stunning is not permitted and each bird is held manually while both jugular veins and carotid arteries are cut. In contrast to conventional poultry slaughter, birds subjected to kosher slaughter are shackled after they have bled out.
The RSPCA definition of humane killing is: ‘an animal must be either killed instantly or rendered insensible to pain until death supervenes’. When killing animals for food, this means they must be stunned before slaughter so they immediately become unconscious.
The RSPCA policy on ritual slaughter is clear: cutting throats prior to stunning is inhumane and completely unnecessary. It is opposed to inhumane methods of killing, religious customs aside, and continues to promote this view to governments and the public.
What you can do to help: contact Minister Tony Burke and tell him your are opposed to inhumane methods of killing animals, including the killing of animals without prior stunning to ensure that they are insensible to pain.
For further information, see:
Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals: Livestock at Slaughtering Establishments
Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption
