That the Jewish method of slaughter appears to offer “a more certain guarantee of painless death of the animal than the usual method”, is asserted by Prof. Carl Tigerstedt, professor of physiology at the Helsingfors University, who has sent the “Jewish Chronicle” here a copy of the report he had made to the government of Finland at the time the Government was considering the prohibition of “Schechita”.
Prof. Tigersted’s report, upon which, according to the “Chronicle”, the Government’s action in withdrawing the prohibition, was based, is as follows:-
“As requested. I beg hereby to certify that with the severance of both arteries of the neck, consciousness practically instantly disappears and does not return.
“From this it follows that the killing of the animal according to the Jewish rite, in accordance with which both arteries of the neck are severed simultaneously with one single out performed by means of a specially sharp knife, must be considered as being as absolutely free of pain-quite as free from pain as the killing by means of stunning or a shooting mask.
“This, of course, is on the assumption that the casting of the animal and the stretching of its neck (for the purpose of cutting) is in Jewish slaughter performed by the application of suitable apparatus.
“In this connection I must also point out that Jewish slaughtering may not be performed by anybody, but only by an official who occupies a fairly high position within the Jewish community. In these circumstances the Jewish method of slaughter seems to me a more certain guarantee of painless death of the animal than the usual method now prescribed by law, especially as the latter method may be carried out by any untrained person.”
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.
