C2: Animal Rights

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Hunting

Hunting for sport is prohibited by Jewish law. Yechezkel Landau, Rabbi of Prague (d.1793), wrote:

In the Torah the sport of hunting is ascribed only to fierce characters like Nimrod and Esau, never to any of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac & Jacob) or their descendants... I cannot comprehend how a Jew could ever dream of killing animals merely for the pleasure of hunting... We may kill wild animals found in places inhabited by human beings, where the beasts constitute a menace. But it is certainly no act of merit to pursue wild beasts in their haunts. It is rather a lustful occupation... When the act of killing is prompted by sport, it is downright cruelty.

Pets and Strays

Jewish tradition requires that we care responsibly and kindly for the animals entrusted to us. We must provide pets with adequate food and feed them before we begin eating. (see the 2nd paragraph of the Shema)

Caring responsibly for an animal means not getting rid of your pet without ensuring that it has a good new home. Abandonment of pets is one of the most rampant abuses of animals today. Living in an age when everything is disposable, we increasingly encounter the tragedy of the disposable pet. People buy pets from irresponsible breeders or adopt animals while on holiday without considering whether they can afford them financially, emotionally and practically. Too often the pets are eventually thrown out into the street. As a result, many stray dogs and cats roam the streets and alleys of our cities, most of them starving and ill, the object of children's torture and often a danger to human health as well.

Zoos

Zoos are a subject of argument between humane and conservation circles. Keeping animals pent up is cruel but, on the other hand, zoos are becoming "stationary arks" for endangered species and centres for educating the public on the need to protect wildlife. Confining animals is an exercise of our power over other life. As seen from Genesis, we may only assume responsibility for other creatures if we treat them kindly. Zoos whose animals are not adequately provided for should be improved or closed down.

Shechitah

Through the mitzvot, the commandments, Jews try to raise the common everyday to a higher level of meaning. Not only do mitzvot sanctify our actions, we become more Godlike in performing them. The laws of kashrut are one example of how an everyday act is transformed and hallowed. The laws of kashrut and especially those concerning shechitah (ritual slaughtering of animals for food) are a middle path between the ideal of vegetarianism and our basic urges. Kashrut demands that we have reverence for the life we take in order to eat. The principle of reverence for life is also translated into the mitzvah of slaughtering an animal in the swiftest, most painless and humane way possible by making a horizontal cut with an extremely sharp knife across the throat of the animal to quickly severe the oesophagus, trachea (windpipe), jugular vein, and carotid arteries, killing the animal instantly. Though minimally painful to the animal, this method looks very bloody and messy. This makes us especially aware of the seriousness of slaughtering animals.

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