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The Ethical Treatment of Animals in Judaism

Development of Ethical Treatment

Proverbs 12:10 states “The righteous person regards the life of his beast.” In Judaism, animals must be treated with kindness and compassion and as a being of God’s creation. The Torah forbids human beings from causing pain to animals, as well as any living creature. The exception to killing an animal in Judaism is for food sources and clothing in order to sustain human needs and survival.

Animals prepare to enter Noah's Ark

According to the Torah, in Genesis 1-3, animals were created on the fifth day, one day prior to Adam and Eve. Adam is placed in charge of naming the animals, while Eve is lured into temptation by the serpent upon eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. This initial introduction of animals within the first pages of the Torah creates a strong bond between humans and animals that evolves into a connection with Jews and animals into the modern world.

Biblically, the shepherds Jacob, Moses, and David all cared for animals. In the Talmud, these shepherds are revered for their care and kindness to animals, while Nimrod and Esau, who were hunters, are portrayed as villains. The actual Torah itself holds great value within animal history in Judaism, as the actual parchment is made of animal hide.

During the great flood and biblical story of Noah’s Ark, Noah is commanded by God to construct an ark and collect seven pairs of all the clean animals and two pairs of animals who are unclean. In this particular story, God commands the humans to care for the animals, and never eat the flesh or blood of a creature while it is still living. Thus, the establishment of the Jewish ethical treatment of animals holds its foundation from both the Torah and the Talmud.

Animals as Food

An Animal Rights group protesting in Israel in 2011.

Religious Jews adhere to strict kosher food laws known as kashrut. The Jewish dietary laws come directly from the Torah, and describe the process of how to eat animals, in addition to the slaughtering process in order for animals to be considered kosher for consumption. The Torah also provides the basis for which animals are considered to be kosher and which animals are strictly prohibited. Leviticus 11:3 specifically state, “You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.”

Kashrut food laws specifically state that animals must be prepared in a particular way to be considered kosher for consumption. This is explained in Deuteronomy 12:23-24, “the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.” In simpler terms, this meant that prior to cooking the meat, it had to be fully drained of its blood.

Cows are the most controversial animals in regard to kosher slaughtering practice.

In Judaism, the shochet performs the shechita, which is the religious and humane method for kosher slaughter practice. During this process a sharp instrument is used to swiftly and painlessly kill the animal for consumption. Religious Jews claim that this is a painless and compassionate method for slaughtering the animal. However, there are current claims that kosher slaughter is a cruel and painful method. PETA argues that through their undercover investigations, kosher law and federal law were being violated during the kosher food practice process. Their story claims that, “Cows remained conscious for as long as two minutes after their throats were cut open.” The argument that kosher slaughter is cruel due to Jewish law forbidding the animals to be stunned prior to slaughter has also brought up the issue of antisemitism and Islamophobia, especially in the United Kingdom. The topic of the ethical treatment of animals in kosher slaughter is a continuous debate with both the religious group and the animal rights activists.

Animals as Pets

Historically, Jews were not fond of dogs, however, they were more accepted in society than cats were.

Historically, dogs were not well regarding by Jews in biblical times. Most dogs were viewed as vicious and likely to attack at any moment; therefore, many did not trust them. Wild dogs were known to attack livestock, while those who attempted to own and domesticate dogs usually failed to keep them under control. Cats are not mentioned in the bible and they were even less popular than dogs in Jewish biblical society. Cats were often seen as atheists and Jews did not learn their real potential until they realized cats ate vermin that carried infected fleas possibly carrying plague.

In modern times, many Jews do have pets, and Jewish law does not prohibit pet keeping. However, there are laws to follow for the pets that Jews do have and these fall into the ethical treatment of kindness and compassion. Jews must feed their pets before they feed themselves and household pets are also entitled to rest on the Sabbath, just as their human companion. Jewish law is against removing claws of cats and forbids any unnecessary surgical or altering procedures. Many Jews see the act of having and caring for a pet as an act of chesed (loving-kindness) and thus both human and animal benefit from the relationship.

Further Advanced Reading:

Bank, Richard D., and Dr. James B Wiggins, ed. Judaism: Beliefs Practices Customs and Traditions. Avon: Adams Media, 2005.

Gartner, Lloyd P. History of the Jews, In Modern Times. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.            

Freedman, Harry. The Talmud: A Biography, Banned, Censored and Burned. The Book They Couldn’t Suppress. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.

Kochan, Lionel. The Making of Western Jewry, 1600-1819. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Shama, Simon. The Story of The Jews: Finding the Words 1000BC-1492 AD. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.

Telushkin, Rabbi Joseph. Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, its People, and its History, Revised Edition. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001.