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A Wing & A Prayer - The Kapparot Chicken-Swinging Ritual
Please Help!
“Kapparot is not consistent with Jewish teachings and law. Repentance and charity can be better accomplished by using money instead of a slaughtered chicken.” - Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren
Photo by: David Rosenfeld
Kapparot practitioners prepare to “swing” chickens in Brooklyn, NY in 2008
Kapparot (kaparos), which means “atonements,” is a custom preceding Yom Kippur - the Jewish Day of Atonement - in which chickens are ritually sacrificed by many Orthodox Jews. The observer “swings” the chicken, held by the legs or by pinning the bird’s wings backward, around his or her head, while reciting a chant about transferring one’s sins symbolically onto the bird. The chicken is then slaughtered, and may or may not be given to the poor. Prior to the ceremony, the chickens are packed in crates, usually for days without food, water or shelter, and birds not used in the ritual have been found abandoned in their crates when the ceremony was over. Most telling is the callous way practitioners stand around chatting while holding the chickens with their wings pinned painfully backward and their legs dangling, as if they were sacks of garbage instead of living creatures.
Kapparot is not required by the Torah or the Talmud. Most observers swing money for charity as a symbolic gesture. However, thousands of chickens are used each year for this purpose.
This year (2009), Yom Kippur is on September 28. This means that kapparot will be practiced in the last week of September. Please help us help the birds.
What Can I Do to Disperse the Kindness Message?
Please write a letter to your local Jewish newspapers expressing your objection to the use of chickens for kapparot and urge that money be used instead. Ask them to do an article about kapparot that examines the ceremony from the standpoint of Jewish teachings that encourage compassion for animals.
Please ask your Rabbi to incorporate the cruel facts about the use of chickens in kapparot ceremonies, and how to have a compassionate ceremony, into his (or her) Rosh Hashanah sermon. Ask your Rabbi, please, to write an informative and directional item in the Temple’s newsletter. And please ask the Rabbinical Council of America to advocate that kapparot be carried out with money instead of chickens. Respectfully request a reply. Contact:
Rabbi Moshe Kletenik, President
Rabbinical Council of America
305 Seventh Avenue, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-807-9000. Fax: 212-727-8452
Email: mkletenik@rabbis.org, office@rabbis.org
For all RCA officers’ & administrators’ email addresses,
go to www.rabbis.org/contact_us.cfm.
If you are a member of the Orthodox faith, please contact:
Rabbi Jack Abramowitz
Associate Director of Synagogue Services
Orthodox Union
11 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212-563-4000
Fax: 212-613-0752
Email: jacka@ou.org
Email: webstaff@ou.org
Website: www.ou.org
Rabbi David Zwiebel
Executive Vice President
Agudath Israel of America
42 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212-797-7385
Fax: 646-254-1650
Email: DZwiebel@agudathisrael.org
Here are some relevant Official Statements on Animals that are considered normative across the Orthodox Jewish faith:
“It is forbidden, according to the law of the Torah, to inflict pain upon any living creature. On the contrary, it is our duty to relieve the pain of any creature, even if it is ownerless or belongs to a non-Jew.” - from Rabbi Solomon Granzfried, Code of Jewish Law, New York Hebrew Publishing Co. (1961), book 4, p. 84.
The Talmud asserts that the concept of tzaar baalei chaim includes not only the need to avoid causing pain to animals but also the need to show them compassion. “Whoever has compassion for other creatures is shown compassion from Heaven; whoever does not have compassion for other creatures is not shown compassion from Heaven.” - from Talmud: Shabbos 151b.
These and more Official Statements on Animals can be found at:
www.hsus.org/religion/profiles/orthodox_judaism.html.
Letters:
Note: Our brochures, A Wing & A Prayer - The Kapparot Chicken-Swinging Ritual, are available for a small donation of $3 for 30 brochures. Please order these and distribute them to your local news media, family, friends, synagogue, and others you think could be helpful. To view our kapparot brochure online, visit www.upc-online.org/kaparos. Thank you for your help.
United Poultry Concerns' 17 August 2009 letter to the Rabbinical Council America
UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS PO BOX 150 MACHIPONGO, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875 Fax: 757-678-5070 Website: WWW.UPC-ONLINE.ORG
August 17, 2009
Rabbi Moshe Kletenik, President
Rabbinical Council of America
305 7th Avenue, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Via Email: MKletenik@Rabbis.org
Dear Rabbi Kletenik:
I am writing to you on behalf of United Poultry Concerns to urge the Rabbinical Council of America to advocate the use of money instead of chickens in kapparot ceremonies.
The treatment of animals is a moral issue in Jewish teachings, which prohibit tzaar baalei chaim - causing unnecessary suffering or pain to animals. Despite this prohibition, kapparot practitioners treat chickens with extreme cruelty in a religious ritual that does not even require the use of live animals.
Every eyewitness account, photograph and videotape we have obtained reveals a pitiless spirit toward these innocent and defenseless birds. Prior to the ceremony, the chickens are packed in crates, usually for days without food, water or shelter. Birds not used in the ritual have been found abandoned in their crates when the ceremony was over, in garages and parking lots. They have been found abandoned in standing water and awaiting the ceremony outside in the rain.
Most telling is the callous way practitioners stand around chatting while holding the chickens with their wings pinned painfully backward and their legs dangling, as if these living, breathing creatures were sacks of garbage instead of members of God’s creation.
We respectfully urge the Rabbinical Council of America to use its influence to help eliminate chickens from kapparot ceremonies, in keeping with Jewish teachings that promote kindness to animals and the fact that chickens are not required for rituals of atonement by the Talmud or the Torah. We urge the Rabbinical Council of America to oppose exposing children (who always appear to be present at these ceremonies) to the desensitized behavior of the adults they look up to. Compassionate children are traumatized by such experiences, and less sensitive children are encouraged to become even more insensitive.
Please, on behalf of these children and these birds and the many Jewish people and others who have contacted us over the years, in great distress, from the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Los Angeles - please take a stand against the use of chickens (or any other live animals) in kapparot rituals. Please advocate the use of money instead of chickens. Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren said of these rituals that “Kapparot is not consistent with Jewish teachings and law. Repentance and charity can be better accomplished by using money instead of a slaughtered chicken.”
Thank you for your kind attention. A response to my letter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Karen Davis, PhD, President
United Poultry Concerns
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875
Fax: 757-678-5070
Email: Karen@UPC-online.org
August 17, 2009
Original letters were also emailed to:
Rabbi Basil Herring, Executive Vice President
Rabbi Barry Kornblau, Director of Operations & Committees
Rabbi Michael Zylberman, Administrator, Regional Courts for Conversion
Rabbi Shalom Carmy, Editor, Tradition
All email addresses can be found at: www.rabbis.org/contact_us.cfm.
Food for Life director Suzanne Yacowitz Dragan's 24 August 2009 letter to Orthodox Rabbis in New Jersey
Food for Life
Helping Animals & a Healthier You
Post Office Box 174
Englishtown, NJ 07726
Phone: 732-446-6963
Web: NJFoodForLife.org
August 24, 2009
Rabbi (Name)
Dear Rabbi (Name):
Shalom L’Shanah Tovah! I am a Jewish nurse and director of Food for Life, a community outreach program that promotes the health, humane and environmental benefits of eating from the New 4 Food Groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Whole Grains and Legumes.
I am writing to you about the practice of using live chickens in the kapparot ritual. This ritual is inconsistent with Judaism's strong teachings about compassion to animals. The kapparot rite can be carried out in a rabbinically approved manner without using animals and slaughtering them.
I am asking you to please use money rather than live chickens for kapparot.
The psalmist indicates G-d's concern for animals, for "His compassion is over all of His creatures" (Psalms 145:9). And there is a mitzvah-precept in the Torah to emulate the Divine compassion, as it is written: "And you shall walk in His ways" (Deuteronomy 28:9). Perhaps the Jewish attitude toward animals is best summarized by Proverbs 12:10: "The righteous person considers the soul (life) of his or her animal."
Moses and King David were considered worthy to be leaders of the Jewish people because of their compassionate treatment of animals when they were shepherds. Rebecca was judged to be a suitable wife to Isaac because of her kindness in watering the ten thirsty camels of Abraham's servant Eliezer.
Many Torah laws involve proper treatment of animals. One may not muzzle an ox while working in the field nor yoke a strong and a weak animal together. Animals, as well as people, must be permitted to rest on the Sabbath day. The importance of this concept is indicated by the fact that it is in the Ten Commandments and by its recitation every Sabbath morning.
In summary, the Torah prohibits Jews from causing tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, even psychological pain. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch eloquently summarizes the Jewish view on treatment of animals: “Here you are faced with G-d's teaching, which obliges you not only to refrain from inflicting unnecessary pain on any animal, but to help and, when you can, to lessen the pain whenever you see an animal suffering, even through no fault of yours.” (Horeb, Chapter 60, #416)
In view of these strong Jewish teachings, the substitute kapparot should be money. In this day of economic crisis, offering money to the poor is indeed a mitzvah. The sense of repentance can be kept, and perhaps even enhanced, since no bird has to lose his or her life or suffer. This substitution of money still maintains the tradition of giving charity to the poor, has been endorsed by many rabbis, and is mentioned in many prayer books, including the Artscroll Siddur.
Some additional considerations for using money rather than chickens for the kapparot ritual are:
* Kapparot is not mentioned in the Torah or in the Talmud.
* According to the Encyclopedia Judaica (Volume 10, pages 756-757), several Jewish sages strongly opposed kapparot. Rabbi Solomon ben Abraham Aderet, considered it a heathen superstition. This opinion was shared by the Ramban and Rabbi Joseph Caro, who called it "a foolish custom" that Jews should avoid. They felt that it was a pagan custom that mistakenly made its way into Jewish practice, perhaps because when Jews lived among pagans this rite seemed like a korban to some extent.
* Some Jewish leaders opposed kapparot because they felt that people would misunderstand the significance of the ritual. The belief that the ceremony of kapparot can transfer a person's sins to a bird, and that his or her sins would then be completely eradicated, is contrary to Jewish teachings.
For, if the ritual could remove a person's sins, what would be the need to observe Yom Kippur?
* The birds suffer. In Israel and the United States, chickens are sold on street corners for this ceremony. The birds are cooped up in crates, often in direct sun and not given food or water. In recent years rabbinic leaders have been exposed to public embarrassment and negative publicity for the treatment of chickens used for kapparot, sparking anti-Semitism. In addition, these chickens have been raised under cruel conditions on modern factory farms.
While the Jewish tradition is filled with concepts, prayers, and actions during the Rosh Hashanah-Yom Kippur period that relate to the importance of rachamim, the message of kapparot to those who take part and those who view it (especially children) may be just the opposite. Kapparot with chickens teaches insensitivity to the feelings and treatment of other living creatures.
* Acts of kindness and charity are consistent with G-d‘s "delighting in Life" on Rosh Hashanah. The kapparot ceremony using chickens does not “delight in Life” as it involves the cruel treatment and death of animals.
* Finally, consistent with the Rosh Hashanah - Yom Kippur period is a time when Jews are to “mend our ways”. Using money rather than chickens for the kapparot ritual shows that we are putting Torah teachings about compassion into practice.
With all due respect Rabbi, please refrain from the cruel and unnecessary practice of using a sentient chicken for your kapparot ritual.
Please, I beg of you Rabbi, honor G-d these High Holy Days. Show mercy and do not do kapparot with His sweet chickens. I am imploring you---please spare these chickens’ lives. Please be an example of Tikkun Olam to your congregation (especially the children) by using money, not chickens.
I would be happy to arrange for you to meet several friendly chickens, each with his and her own personality. They are gentle animals created by the same G-d that created us.
Please contact me at 732-446-6963 with any questions and to arrange a chicken meeting. I look forward to meeting you!
Chag Sameach,
Suzanne Yacowitz Dragan, director
The religious references in this letter are from an article written by Dr. Richard Schwartz, president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America.
United Poultry Concerns' 26 August 2009 letter to Rabbi Jack Abramowitz
UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS PO BOX 150 MACHIPONGO, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875 Fax: 757-678-5070 Website: WWW.UPC-ONLINE.ORG
August 26, 2009
Rabbi Jack Abramowitz
Associate Director of Synagogue Services
Orthodox Union
New York, NY 10004
Via Email: jacka@ou.org
Dear Rabbi Abramowitz:
I am writing to you on behalf of United Poultry Concerns to urge the Orthodox Union to advocate the use of money instead of chickens in kapparot ceremonies.
The treatment of animals is a moral issue in Jewish teachings, which prohibit tzaar baalei chaim - causing unnecessary suffering or pain to animals. Despite this prohibition, kapparot practitioners treat chickens harshly in a religious ritual that does not require the use of live animals.
Every eyewitness account, photograph and videotape we have obtained reveals a pitiless spirit toward these innocent and defenseless birds. Prior to the ceremony, the chickens are typically packed in crates for days without food, water or shelter. Birds not used in the ritual have been found abandoned in their crates when the ceremony was over, in garages and parking lots in New York City. They have been found abandoned in standing water and awaiting the ceremony outside in the rain.
Most telling is the callous way practitioners stand around chatting while holding the chickens with their wings pinned painfully backward and their legs dangling, as if these living, breathing creatures were sacks of garbage instead of members of God’s creation.
We respectfully urge the Orthodox Union to use its influence to help eliminate chickens from kapparot ceremonies, in keeping with Jewish teachings that promote kindness to animals and the fact that chickens are not required for rituals of atonement by the Torah or the Talmud. We urge the Orthodox Union to oppose exposing children (who always appear to be present at these ceremonies) to the desensitized behavior of the adults they look up to. Compassionate children are traumatized by such experiences, and less sensitive children are encouraged to become even more insensitive.
Please, on behalf of these children and these birds and the many Jewish people and others who have contacted us over the years, in great distress, from the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Los Angeles - please take a stand against the use of chickens (or any other live animals) in kapparot rituals. Please advocate the use of money instead of chickens. The Talmud observes that the concept of tzaar baalei chaim includes not only the need to avoid causing pain to animals but also the need to show them compassion. In this spirit of compassionate teaching, former Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren is quoted as having said that “Kapparot is not consistent with Jewish teachings and law. Repentance and charity can be better accomplished by using money instead of a slaughtered chicken.”
Thank you for your kind attention, Rabbi Abramowitz. A response to my letter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Karen Davis, PhD, President
United Poultry Concerns
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875
Fax: 757-678-5070
Email: Karen@UPC-online.org
August 26, 2009
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. www.upc-online.org.
United Poultry Concerns' 26 August 2009 letter to Rabbi David Zwiebel
UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS PO BOX 150 MACHIPONGO, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875 Fax: 757-678-5070 Website: WWW.UPC-ONLINE.ORG
August 26, 2009
Rabbi David Zwiebel
Executive Vice President
Agudath Israel of America
42 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Via Email: DZwiebel@agudathisrael.org
Dear Rabbi Zwiebel:
I am writing to you on behalf of United Poultry Concerns to urge Agudath Israel of America to advocate the use of money instead of chickens in kapparot ceremonies.
The treatment of animals is a moral issue in Jewish teachings, which prohibit tzaar baalei chaim - causing unnecessary suffering or pain to animals. Despite this prohibition, kapparot practitioners treat chickens harshly in a religious ritual that does not require the use of live animals.
Every eyewitness account, photograph and videotape we have obtained reveals a pitiless spirit toward these innocent and defenseless birds. Prior to the ceremony, the chickens are typically packed in crates for days without food, water or shelter. Birds not used in the ritual have been found abandoned in their crates when the ceremony was over, in garages and parking lots in New York City. They have been found abandoned in standing water and awaiting the ceremony outside in the rain.
Most telling is the callous way practitioners stand around chatting while holding the chickens with their wings pinned painfully backward and their legs dangling, as if these living, breathing creatures were sacks of garbage instead of members of G-d’s creation.
We respectfully urge Agudath Israel of America to use its influence to help eliminate chickens from kapparot ceremonies, in keeping with Jewish teachings that promote kindness to animals and the fact that chickens are not required for rituals of atonement by the Torah or the Talmud. We urge Agudath Israel of America to oppose exposing children (who always appear to be present at these ceremonies) to the desensitized behavior of the adults they look up to. Compassionate children are traumatized by such experiences, and less sensitive children are encouraged to become even more insensitive.
Please, on behalf of these children and these birds and the many Jewish people and others who have contacted us over the years, in great distress, from the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Los Angeles - please take a stand against the use of chickens (or any other live animals) in kapparot rituals. Please advocate the use of money instead of chickens. The Talmud observes that the concept of tzaar baalei chaim includes not only the need to avoid causing pain to animals but also the need to show them compassion. In this spirit of compassionate teaching, former Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren is quoted as having said that “Kapparot is not consistent with Jewish teachings and law. Repentance and charity can be better accomplished by using money instead of a slaughtered chicken.”
Thank you for your kind attention, Rabbi Zwiebel. A response to my letter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Karen Davis, PhD, President
United Poultry Concerns
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875
Fax: 757-678-5070
Email: Karen@UPC-online.org
August 26, 2009
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. www.upc-online.org.
United Poultry Concerns' 31 August 2009 letter to Rabbi Joseph Potasnik
UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS PO BOX 150 MACHIPONGO, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875 Fax: 757-678-5070 Website: WWW.UPC-ONLINE.ORG
August 31, 2009
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik
New York Board of Rabbis
136 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Via Email: jpotasnik@nybr.org
Dear Rabbi Potasnik:
I am writing to you on behalf of United Poultry Concerns to ask for your help. I am writing respectfully to request that the New York Board of Rabbis advocate the use of money instead of chickens in kapparot ceremonies.
The treatment of animals is a moral issue in Jewish teachings, which prohibit tzaar baalei chaim - causing unnecessary suffering or pain to animals. Despite this prohibition, kapparot practitioners treat chickens harshly in a religious ritual that does not require the use of live animals.
Every eyewitness account, photograph and videotape we have obtained reveals a pitiless spirit toward these innocent and defenseless birds. Prior to the ceremony, the chickens are typically packed in crates for days without food, water or shelter. Birds not used in the ritual have been found abandoned in their crates when the ceremony was over, in garages and parking lots in New York City. They have been found abandoned in standing water and awaiting the ceremony outside in the rain.
Most telling is the callous way practitioners stand around chatting while holding the chickens with their wings pinned painfully backward and their legs dangling, as if these living, breathing creatures were sacks of garbage instead of members of God’s creation.
We respectfully beseech you and the New York Board of Rabbis to use your influence to help eliminate chickens from kapparot ceremonies, in keeping with Jewish teachings that promote kindness to animals and the fact that chickens are not required for rituals of atonement by the Torah or the Talmud. We urge the New York Board of rabbis to oppose exposing children (who always appear to be present at these ceremonies) to the desensitized behavior of the adults they look up to. Compassionate children are traumatized by such experiences, and less sensitive children are encouraged to become even more insensitive.
Please, on behalf of these children and these birds and the many Jewish people and others who have contacted us over the years, in great distress, from the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Los Angeles - please take a stand against the use of chickens (or any other live animals) in kapparot rituals. Please advocate the use of money instead of chickens. The Talmud observes that the concept of tzaar baalei chaim includes not only the need to avoid causing pain to animals but also the need to show them compassion. In this spirit of compassionate teaching, former Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren is quoted as having said that “Kapparot is not consistent with Jewish teachings and law. Repentance and charity can be better accomplished by using money instead of a slaughtered chicken.”
Thank you for your kind attention, Rabbi Potasnik. A response to my letter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Karen Davis, PhD, President
United Poultry Concerns
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875
Fax: 757-678-5070
Email: Karen@UPC-online.org
August 31, 2009
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. www.upc-online.org.
United Poultry Concerns' 7 September 2009 letter to Rabbi David Zwiebel and Rabbi Avi Shafran
UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS PO BOX 150 MACHIPONGO, VA 23405
Phone: 757-678-7875 Fax: 757-678-5070 Website: WWW.UPC-ONLINE.ORG
September 7, 2009
Rabbi David Zwiebel, Executive Vice President
Rabbi Avi Shafran, Director of Public Affairs
Agudath Israel of America
42 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Via Email: DZwiebel@agudathisrael.org; Shafran@agudathisrael.org
Dear Rabbi Zwiebel and Rabbi Shafran:
On August 26, 2009 I wrote to you respectfully requesting that Agudath Israel of America advocate the use of money instead of chickens in kapparot ceremonies, in keeping with Orthodox Jewish teachings that promote kindness to animals.
Since writing to you in August, I have read your guidelines, “How to Handle Kapparot Problems.” While this document does advocate ritual procedures that could reduce the harsh handling of the chickens, it does not really convey a true spirit of compassion for them. I’ve been told by some that the chickens used in kapparot ceremonies are regarded primarily or entirely as “tools,” which would help to explain their mistreatment. At the same time, it has been said that the chickens are regarded as “living things” who may be presumed to be “gratified by the privilege” of being killed for a “holy purpose.” Either way, the birds themselves, in being thus perceived, do not count or truly exist in their own right. Both views go far to explain why the chickens are treated the way they are.
Holding chickens with their wings pulled backward is painful to them. This manner of holding a chicken violates the Torah’s laws of tza’ar ba’alei chayim. Dr. Ian Duncan, Professor Emeritus of Poultry Science at the University of Guelph in Ontario, wrote back to me on September 1, regarding this manner of holding a chicken, that “holding a domestic fowl with the wings pinned back as shown will be painful. It will be extremely painful if the bird is held in this position for some minutes” (September 1, 2009 email).
Dr. Nedim Buyukmihci, Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, wrote back in response to my showing him the photo of a kapparot practitioner in Brooklyn holding a young female chicken with her wings pulled backward: “The manner in which the man is holding the chicken, with the wings pulled back, is not appropriate. It puts the chicken at risk for ligament and tendon injury, possibly even bone fracture.”
One hesitates to draw attention to the fact that holding a bird with the wings pinned backward is painful and potentially injurious, for fear practitioners could be advised instead to hold the chickens upside down by their legs. Biologically, in terms of nociceptors and impact receptors in the bodies of chickens, both methods are cruel, potentially injurious, and painful. Both methods show disrespect for a living, feeling creature. Chickens are G-d’s creatures too, not just humans.
What I have seen in virtually every instance of kapparot ceremonies in which chickens are used are white “broiler” chickens about six weeks old, usually female. It is a fact, not an opinion, that chickens who have been bred for meat (i.e. for excessive breast muscle tissue) are predisposed to painful lameness and hip joint degeneration as a result of being forced to grow too large and fast for their skeletal systems to support their bodyweight. They are also extremely susceptible to congestive heart failure because of these cruel genetics - something I have witnessed many times at our sanctuary. These birds are weak and fragile and easily wounded. They also respond strongly to affection and kindness.
There is a mountain of scientific evidence about the suffering inbred in “broiler” chickens, dating from the 1960s, when the genetics became commercialized. In his 1992 paper, “Pain in Birds,” for example, Dr. Michael Gentle cites the “widespread nature of chronic orthopaedic disease in domestic poultry”; and Dr. John Webster, professor of animal husbandry in the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science, in his 1994 book A Cool Eye Towards Eden, observed that most of the painful leg disorders in broiler chickens and turkeys are attributable to the fact that these birds “have grown too heavy for their limbs and/or become so distorted in shape as to impose unnatural stresses on their joints.” Is it kosher and does it fit the Torah’s laws of tza’ar ba’alei chayim to impair and distort chickens’ bodies genetically and/or to eat or otherwise use birds so burdened with infirmities? Because this is the reality.
Looking at this photograph, www.upc-online.org/kaparos/090825wingprayer.html,
I who have been caring for chickens exactly like the bird in the picture for more than 20 years, including 70 broiler hens who were rescued after being abandoned in crates by kapparot practitioners in Brooklyn in 2006 and 2007 - looking at this picture, I see this poor young bird trying as best she can to keep her hips from slipping down even more, and I see her poor feet hanging in the air. This picture is sickening and it’s not the only one (www.upc-online.org/kaparos; www.upc-online.org/kaparos/upckapparot.pdf).
.
I respectfully and urgently renew my request that Agudath Israel do whatever is possible to encourage congregations to use money in kapparot ceremonies instead of chickens. I’m inspired by the statements on animals in www.hsus.org/religion/profiles/orthodox_judaism.html to hope that where compassion is concerned, customs can evolve. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Karen Davis, PhD, President
United Poultry Concerns
Phone: (757) 678-7875
Email: Karen@upc-online.org
September 7, 2009
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. www.upc-online.org
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