Shechita forbidden

New Zealand has banned kosher slaughter after a new animal welfare code mandated that all animals for commercial consumption be stunned prior to slaughter to ensure they are treated “humanely and in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge.” The regulation has shocked the Jewish community. “This decision by the New Zealand government, one which has a Jewish prime minister, is outrageous,” said Rabbi Moshe Gutnick, acting president of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia. The New Zealand government estimates that 15—2 beef cattle, 4—5 lambs and 12—14 chickens are annually slaughtered to meet the needs of the Jewish communities in Wellington and Auckland, which number about 5. Among other countries that have banned shechita are Iceland, Norway and Sweden.