How must meat for kosher be killed?

If its flesh is to be kosher, an animal must be killed in accordance with very strict laws known as shechita. These laws apply to all birds and mammals, including wild animals, which must be caught in a way that does not injure them and then killed according to shechita. As well as ensuring that the meat is in compliance with the laws of kashrut (the very strict commandments that govern which food is kosher, which is not kosher and which is neutral), shechita also places great emphasis on preventing suffering and as a result has been called the first ever set animal welfare laws by some.

First of all, the animal must be a kosher species. Pigs are the best known non-kosher animal, but many others are also forbidden such as whales, dolphins, camels, any fish that does not have both fins and scales (such as the lamprey and shark), insects, shellfish, Birds of Prey and others. Hunting is not permitted if the animal is killed in any way other than by the method below as the meat will be rendered non-kosher. Wild animals must be caught in a way that does not harm them and then slaughtered in compliance with Jewish law. Prior to being shekhted (slaughtered), the animal will be closely examined for any sign of diseases that cause lesions on the lungs which would make the flesh unsuitable for consumption by Jews.

The animal must only be killed by a shochet, a highly-trained slaughterman who in many cases may also be a rabbi. He must be a very pious Jew and must consider the animal's life and well-being as he slits the throat with a very sharp blade known to Ashkenazi Jews as a hallaf and to Sephardim as a sakin. The blade must have a perfect edge, without any nicks or blemishes, and be able to bring about rapid death when pressed against the throat - hacking or slicing renders the meat treif (non-kosher). In addition to being intended to bring about rapid loss of consciousness, the process is also designed to ensure the removal of as much blood as possible from the carcass. Whether or not this is preferable to modern secular slaughtering techniques is debatable - many people, both Jewish and gentile, argue that shechita causes no more distress than slaughter with a captive bolt gun and that the process can be preferable due to the greater emphasis placed upon the animal's life and prevention of suffering. Others claim that it results in more suffering - it is worth knowing that kosher slaughterhouses find themselves subject to animal abuse charges far less frequently than non-kosher facilities which tend to be geared up to the undustrial production of meat on a massive scale which, in all too many cases, leads to corners being cut and standards being ignored. Note that those kosher slaughterhouses that have been charged with abuse have often been those that attempt to industrialise the process, such was the case with Spencer Foods of Spencer in Iowa, now defunct - animal handling expert Temple Grandin referred to it as "the plant from hell" and vowed to shut it down. However, speaking on shechita in general, he said that when done "done correctly, the animal appears not to feel it. From an animal welfare standpoint, the major concern during ritual slaughter are the stressful and cruel methods of restraint (holding) that are used in some plants" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shechita#Animal_welfare_controversies). Nevertheless, the debate has led many Jews to avoid meat altogether and adopt vegetarian/vegan diets.

Following slaughter, the flesh is once again examined in process known as bedikah for evidence of internal injury that would render it treif. Internal organs are once again checked for lesions - there is debate about whether lesions always make meat treif or not, with some Jews believing that if the lungs remain airtight following removal of the scarred section then the meat is kosher. Glatt kosher refers to meat that has been shekted in strict accordance with shechita and in which no lesions have been discovered.

Next, the carcass is porged. The kidneys, intestines and certain fats in the case of domestic animals, known as chelev, as removed (chelev does not appy to wild animals). The gid hanasheh, or sciatic nerve, must also be removed. Removal of chelev and gid hanasheh is a labour-intensive and very difficult task which requires a highly-skilled butcher - one of the reasons that a shochet must undergo far more training that a non-kosher butcher. Since the Totah forbids the consumption of blood, this too must be removed - large blood vessels are stripped out and the meat is kashered - soaked for around half an hour and then covered in salt which absorbs the last traces of blood prior to being rinsed off. This must be done within three days of slaughter and prior to freezing, otherwise the blood is considered to have set within the meat and it is treif.