LONDON: A New Zealand High Court in Wellington is to hear a case against New Zeland's ban on Kosher animal slaughter later this month in what activist hope will be the final straw to maintain the ban. Across the Jewish world, anticipation is high over the case to be heard on November 29. In Israel, animal rights activist Thomas James told Bikya Masr that he hopes the ban will be maintained. “It is a step in the right direction for animal rights because we should not be allowing these practices in modern times,” he said. New Zealand's Jewish Council President Stephen Goodman disagrees and says the animal rights lobby will be pressing hard to get its voices heard. “We believe that this is, or will be interpreted as, a worldwide test case,” he said, in comments carried by the JTA news agency. “The animal rights lobby will be applying pressure to governments around the world. We have heard rumors of the issue being raised in France, Ireland and even Australia. “Denying us a fundamental tenant of our religion is a direct challenge to our existence. It is unintentional anti-Semitism,” Goodman said. He has called on Jewish communities across the globe to donate money to help argue for Kosher slaughter. He said the cost of the case will be an estimated $123,000 and less than half has been raised currently. “We have a very good case and a high probability of winning,” Goodman said. Under new agriculture laws, Kosher slaughter was banned. The new welfare code mandates that all commercially slaughtered animals be stunned first before slaughter. Jewish lobbyists asked Agriculture Minister David Carter to exempt Kosher slaughter due to religious reasons, but were denied. The New Zealand Jewish community then filed legal action after negotiations with the ministry failed. The case pits the Jewish community against the Conservative government of Prime Minister John Key, whose mother, Ruth Lazar, was a Jewish refugee who escaped Austria on the eve of the Holocaust. Kosher slaughter has been carried out in New Zealand since 1843. “As an Israeli Jew, I believe it is time we started to look at the animals welfare just as much as human needs, because this really isn't about needs, it's about religion and that is wrong,” added James. BM
