IRE, SLAUGHTER OF ANIMALS
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SER,—In your article on "The Slaughter of Animals (J tine 27th) you state that 'prentice hands wield both thel pole-axe and the knife, and that with the former they fail to stun at the first, second or third attempt, while with the other they fail, as often, to sever the vital vein. As an animal lover I hope that the figures, so far as pole-axing is concerned, are exaggerated. So far as the Jewish method of slaughtering with the knife is concerned, the statement is inexact and inapplicable. The Jews specially select their "killers," train them (not on the live animal), examine them for pro- ficiency before they are allowed to kill, license and supervise them. I have studied the Jewish method for the past twenty- one years, and although about 1000 beasts per week are Slaughtered by that method in London alone, I have never yet heard of a single case in which there was failure to sever the carotid arteries at the first cut.
Later in the article you state that the present methods of killing will later be regarded as inconceivable evidence of our grossness, and that loss of sensation should be instantaneous. I am happy to be able to quote from a detailed Report, made in 1923, on the Jewish Method, by Sir Wm. Bayliss, F.R.S,, Professor of General Physiology at University College, London. In his conclusions, Sir William stated : "The result of the' cut made by the Jewish method is to produce immediate insensibility."—I am, Sir, &c.,
CnAnams H. L. EMANUEL,
23 Finsbury Square, London, E.C. 2.
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