Ultra-Orthodox vs. Animal Rights Activists: Should Chicken-Killing Ritual Continue?
Animals rights activists have cried fowl at kapparot (also called kaporos), a 2,000-year-old Orthodox Jewish tradition involving ritual chicken slaughter. In preparation for Yom Kippur, practitioners — including thousands of members of Brooklyn’s Orthodox community — hold a chicken by its wings and swing it over their head three times while praying. Then the chicken is…
Animals rights activists have cried fowl at kapparot (also called kaporos), a 2,000-year-old Orthodox Jewish tradition involving ritual chicken slaughter. In preparation for Yom Kippur, practitioners — including thousands of members of Brooklyn’s Orthodox community — hold a chicken by its wings and swing it over their head three times while praying. Then the chicken is killed with a knife.
Adherents say it’s an act of atonement and purification. Activists say it’s animal torture. But what do you think?
What Activists Want
For the chicken-killing to stop. Opponents to the ritual claim that the birds are inhumanely treated and the practice is unsanitary, endangering public health.
What Kapparot Practitioners Want
To practice their religion. People have been observing kapparot for millennia. It’s an act laden with cultural significance.
Five Facts:
- A Manhattan Supreme Court Justice ruled earlier this month that the ritual could proceed, saying there is no proof that kapparot is a public nuisance
- Tens of thousands of chickens — some estimates place the number around 50,000 — are killed in Brooklyn each year for kapparot
- Traditionally, the ritual takes place in backyards, but in some areas of Brooklyn it takes place on public streets
- Following the ritual, chickens are supposed to be donated to the poor. However, pictures have surfaced showing many end up in the trash
- Some Orthodox sects have chosen to use coins or fish instead of chickens for kapparot
What do you think? Should the chicken-killing be outlawed? Regulated? Is the practice different — worse or better — than how a slaughterhouse might treat chickens destined for the table?
[Source: Gothamist | Photo: Paul Sableman]
Brooklyn Hasidim Say Slaughtered Chickens Are Given To Charity, Videos Tell A Different Story http://t.co/gls9mX3QTM pic.twitter.com/QkZmbSgytI
— Gothamist (@Gothamist) September 23, 2015
Thank you Kaporos. My street is littered with chicken carcasses. – #Nyc pic.twitter.com/xQPtQgVu38 — ev0 (@EvoHans) September 22, 2015
On our way to Kaporos. pic.twitter.com/LNrEdyCso3 — Avrohom Keller (@abekay2) September 21, 2015
Kaporos protest Dahill Rd 3: http://t.co/Evy1YqMJ7k via @YouTube — rrrina (@rrrina) September 21, 2015
A photo posted by Yitzi Shimshoni (@yitzishims) on Sep 20, 2015 at 11:37am PDT
Is this any more cruel, crude and inhuman than the way chickens rest of us eat that are bred/live etc in chicken factories?
This ritual occurs on highly-trafficked public streets instead of private backyards and other facilities, and accordingly federal and state food-handling, at the very least, should come into play (that is, assuming arguendo, the veracity of the claim that all of these chickens are used for food). As this happens in public, accordingly some pretty serious sanitation, licensing and serious animal cruelty issues come into play. This debate is more limited than general debates about the meat industry, or about specific religious practices.
No Permits,
When I read this post I thought this will be an intelligent debate (IE if jewish slaughter of chickens is more painful to animals than other means of death-if its a public nuance etc). I give credit to the writer for portraying this quite balanced. Thanks to you for ending a legitimate debate and spewing ur filthy antisemitic diatribe.
Shame on you. Stop with hate!
The judicial system in NY is fair and not slanted in any way more to Jews than anyone else. Your post belongs in Der Sturmer, not on brownstoner.
If Brownstoner wants to go away from real estate and delve into borderline issues they better get a active moderator to moderate the haters.
+1 Mordy. I think its clear what no-limit is.
Thanks!
I assume you meant “No -permits”
Yes it is clear. Look at his posts on the Gothamist etc.
Any other stereotypes you’d like to trot out?
Animal Sacrifice in the World’s Largest Muslim-Majority
http://www.wsj.com/briefly/BL-263B-6051
Pot meet kettle
Might want to add halal to that