Humane Casting
for Jewish Slaughter IT is a matter of regret to humane Londoners that -I- the City of London Corporation has never adopted the Ministry, of Health's Model Bye-law 9B, which would introduce modern humane methods-.for the slaughter- of animals. Recently those, methods were made, in large measure, compulsory for Scotland, and they have been adopted' by the London County Council, the Manchester Corporation, and many other important local authorities. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the City of London will not lose much more time in bringing its bye-laws up to the modern standard in' this . respect. , . . There is, however, a method of killing which lies outside the ambit of the model bye-law referred to, for the Jewish method is expressly exempted from its provisions. The importance of this exemption will be realized from the fact that some 80 per' cent. of the meat killed at the Islington abattoir is killed by the Jewish method, so that a large proportion of the home-killed meat consumed by . Gentile Londoners must have been produced in this way. There is no great objection to the actual Jewish rite of shechita, which .probably brings about unconsciousness .very rapidly ; indeed, it was the most humane method known before the invention of the " humane killer," or pistol.
The strongest possible exception is taken, however, to the preliminary casting operation whereby the animal is thrown into such a position that the shochet, or cutter, (a specially qualified Jewish minister) can properly carry out his task.. The subject has already been discussed in the Spectator and is controversial, but, there exists a strong majority opinion, both inside and outside the Jewish community, in favour of improvement in the existing methods of casting. Whatever may have been the case in ancient times, the operation involves very great cruelty to the more vigorous beasts under the conditions prevailing in a modern slaughterhouse.
For many years Mr. Weinberg, a Jew of Leeds, has devoted himself to the development of an appliance for effecting casting without the infliction of fear or pain. He has had .to struggle against an amount of apathy and obstruction which would have daunted any but the most determined of reformers, and the Jewish community has reason to be proud of his pluck and perseverance. Recently the rabbonim of the five Leeds congregations petitioned the corporation of that town to install the Weinberg Casting Pen in the public abbatoir..
Early this year, after exasperatingly protracted negotiations in which' every conceivable ground for delay had been put forward, Mr. Weinberg was able to demon- strate his apparatus in the Islington abattoir.. A large adjudicatory committee was called together from. all over the United Kingdom, and the expenses of the trial were paid by the London Board of • Shechita. Unfor- tunately, the course Of events made it impossible for the inventor to carry out private trials in the, slaughterhouse before the Committee met, and the demonstration resolved itself into nothing better than an inventor's experiment carried out in public. As was inevitable in these circumstances, the experiment indicated the need for alterations in the design of, the machine such as mechanical strengthening, . improvement in the control and the provision of better means of removing the carcases. The adjudicatory committee therefore adjourned without reaching a decision. - It is a pleasure tci record that the required improve,. ments have now been made in a satisfactory manner. Demonstrations have been taking place in a private slaughterhouse in Leeds, and a representative of the Spectator, who attended one of, these demonstrations as well as the earlier abortive experiment, feels no doubt that the present design will commend itself to practical men. The compulsory use of _humane casting devices will, therefore, presumably be made the subject of legislation if that course should become necessary, though it is probable that the existing law would be sufficient if rigorously enforced.
It would, naturally, be far better for all concerned if the Boards of Shechita would adopt the apparatus voluntarily. Unfortunately, their position is a little delicate. They own no slaughterhouses, but merely regulate the ritual aspect of the Jewish -slaughtering which is carried out at Islington and elsewhere under intricate commercial agreements. Any disturbance of the existing working arrangements made by the Boards of Shechita will therefore call for courage in addition to good will. On the other hand, pleas have recently been put forward for the total abolition of the Jewish shechita privileges, and the best defences which the Boards of Shechita could provide against such attacks would be the voluntary removal of all reasonable grounds for criticism.
In conclusion, reference must once more be made to the delays and difficulties which have been encountered in the past . when the inventor desired to try out his machine or to submit it for adjudication. A considerable section of the public has now become interested in the Casting Pen, and great disappointment will be felt and shown if further pretexts for delay should now be put forward. .
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