Polish shechita plan is threat to UK beef supply
KOSHER MEAT supplies in Britain could be threatened by legislation set to go before the Polish parliament, aimed at drastically affecting that country’s approach to religious slaughter.
Poland’s governing Law and Justice party is promoting an animal welfare bill which includes a clause on shechita.
While not banning the practice, it would make it extremely hard to carry out by demanding that an animal be standing upright as it is slaughtered. Currently slaughtermen can kill the animal in any position — usually it is laying down. The bill would also severely limit the export of kosher meat from Poland.
In the UK, almost all kosher animals and birds, including chickens, are slaughtered domestically. But Poland is a major source of kosher beef production. About 35 to 40 per cent of kosher beef consumed in the UK comes from Poland, while Israel gets almost all its kosher beef from the eastern European country.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association, said the proposals were “unacceptable” and called on the Polish government “to avoid enacting this shameful law and… take into account that the Jewish people’s faith in the Polish leadership is deteriorating”.
The relationship between Poland and Israel has soured after Warsaw passed a law making it illegal to talk about Polish complicity in the Nazi crimes of the Holocaust, much of which took place on Polish soil.
A spokesperson for the Shechita UK group said that while there had initially been an expectation the proposed animal welfare law would be debated in the Sejm — the Polish parliament — this week, there was now speculation the debate might not be held before the end of the month or possibly not until later this year.
The spokesman said: “We are arguing that as it’s slaughter to order, it’s not for the general market, it’s for the Jewish market, that we should be allowed to shecht there, and they should be allowed to continue to export. All of these things are for discussion.”
Rabbi Michael Shudrich, Poland’s Chief Rabbi, told Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper he was “in advanced discussions with the member of parliament who proposed this new bill, to change the bill to be more sensitive to Jewish needs.
“There is a real openness, also among the animal rights people, to find a compromise that will not negatively impact Jewish religious life.”
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Labour Party in Britain unveiled its plans for “radical action on animal welfare”, which included a proposal for the mandatory labelling of domestic and imported meat to make clear the production methods and whether the animal had been stunned.
In response, Shimon Cohen, campaign director for Shechita UK, said the proposal was “behind the curve”.
“Informed circles have now moved this discussion on to comprehensive method of slaughter labelling which would ensure that consumers know whether their meat has been killed by captive bolt shooting, gassing, electrocution by tongs or water, or any of the other approved methods.
“Comprehensive method of slaughter labelling is welcomed by religious communities and animal welfare groups alike and we would urge the Labour Party to urgently review their policy.”