A Canadian Jewish Congress delegation called upon Prime Minister John G Diefenbaker to discuss the pending regulations on Shechitah. It appeared from the discussions that there is no Government opposition to the principle of Shechitah as a humane method of slaughtering food animals. There is however a practical problem of the pre-slaughter preparation of the animal which is not in itself a part of the process of Shechitah.
The Canadian Jewish Congress has taken a position that the present method of this preparation Known as shackling and hoisting is not in itself inhumane. The Congress also notes that there are methods devised towards the same end which are practicable and acceptable to the abattoirs. The Congress told the government that, however, to issue a blanket prohibition of shackling and hoisting at this time would in effect constitute a threat to the practice of Shechitah in many places, at least for the time being.
The delegation, consisting of S.M. Harris of Toronto, Norman Genser. and Rabbi Z. Zambrowsky of Montreal, asked the government to refrain from regulations which would substantively prevent Shechitah after the government had in principle recognized the legitimacy of Shechitah A further meeting with the government will take place in the near future.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
