Don the laws of shechita provide for a humane slaughter of animals so that we need not be concerned with violations of tsaar baalei chayim ?
It is true that shechita has been found in scientific tests conducted in the United States and other countries to be a relatively painless method of slaughter. But can we consider only the final minutes of an animal’s life? What about the tremendous pain and cruelty involved in the entire process of raising and transporting animals? When the consumption of meat is not necessary and is even harmful to people’s health can any method of slaughter be considered humane? Is this not a contradiction in terms? Some animal rights advocates have been critical of shechita because of the practice of shackling and hoisting, a very painful process in which the animal is raised off the ground by its hind leg prior to slaughter. It is important to recognize that shackling and hoisting is not a necessary part of shechita. It was instituted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in 1906 in order to avoid the blood of diseased animals contaminating other animals when they were cast upon the floor. Fortun
