Shechita Chicken Case Settled
The New Zealand Jewish community has settled its case ahead of Monday’s High Court trialwith the Government allowing the shechita of poultry to continue.
Garth Cohen, the President of the Auckland Hebrew Congregation has issued the following statement:
We are pleased to announce that we have reached agreement with the Minister of Agriculture which will enable the shechita of poultry to continue in New Zealand. Court orders putting that agreement into effect were made at the High Court in Wellington this afternoon.
Negotiations are ongoing in relation to lamb. However until those negotiations are concluded (or the matter is determined in Court) the interim orders which were previously granted (enabling the shechita of lamb) will continue.
The trial which was due to commence in the High Court on Monday has therefore been adjourned
We gratefully acknowledge the support of all community members on this issue, and specifically thank those that have given evidence in support of the legal case and those who have donated funds. Unfortunately there is still a significant shortfall and community members are asked to “dig deep” to help meet the costs of our campaign to save shechita in New Zealand.
Finally, thanks to the members of the Shechita Committee and the legal team at Russell McVeagh (led by Sarah Katz and Andrew Butler) who have all put in a huge effort to get us to this point.
We will of course update you with any further developments.
