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Parasha and Halacha Shiur Summary on P. Shemini, by Dayan Shlomo Cohen
The Jewish method of slaughter has been under attack for many years in Europe. In Switzerland it is forbidden, and the EU has a recommendation that animals be pre-stunned (which is a Halachic issue, as we shall see). So is Shehita, the Jewish ritual slaughter, humane? Firstly, we must note that everyone kills the animal while the heart is pumping so the blood should be pumped out of the animal on its own (that’s why there is no discussion of shooting the animal). The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals concluded that there is no way to prove that an animal suffers less if it is pre-stunned.
Does the Torah care about the suffering of animals?
There is a Mitzvah to send away a mother-bird when taking its chicks, not to cause suffering for the mother (Rav Yissochar Meir used to say that if one doesn’t need the chicks one shouldn’t take them in the first place, as it is causing suffering to animal. There is a Mitzvah not to muzzle an ox while it’s thrashing. There’s a prohibition to lead your wagon with a donkey and an ox at the same time as it causes suffering to the slower animal. There is a prohibition to slaughter an animal and its child on the same day. There is also an obligation to help someone unload his donkey to prevent suffering from the donkey.
Furthermore, the Poskim discuss forbidding duck liver, in which the duck is fattened to the point of great suffering to achieve the desired product. There is an obligation to feed your animal before yourself. According to some, the prohibition to neuter animals is because it causes them suffering. It is clear that the Torah cares about animal suffering, although the Western world only started worrying about animals’ feelings about a century ago.
With regards to Shehita as well, the knife must be razor sharp with no grooves, and the slaughter must be done in one stroke (interestingly enough, the esophagus and windpipe of non-kosher animals are very far apart, thus slaughter would cause them greater pain). Within 2-3 seconds of Shehita the blood-supply to the brain is decimated and the animal is unconscious and feels no pain.