Tza'ar ba'alei chayim
Encyclopedia
Tza'ar ba'alei chayim is the Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 principle which bans inflicting unnecessary pain on animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

s. This concept is not clearly enunciated in the written Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

, but was accepted by the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 (Bava Metzia 32b) as being a Biblical mandate. It is linked in the Talmud from the Biblical law requiring people to assist in unloading burdens from animals (Exodus 23:5).

Humane Slaughter of Animals

In traditional Jewish law, animals may be eaten as long as they are killed as painlessly and humanely as possible using the method known as shechitah, where the animal is killed by having its throat cut swiftly using a specially sharpened knife. Jewish authorities have asserted that shechitah is the most painless method of slaughter possible.

In 2000, the Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbinical Assembly
The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...

 of Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...

's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards banned the common slaughter method of "shackling and hoisting" (pulling a conscious animal into the air with a chain before slaughter). Rabbis Joel Roth
Joel Roth
Joel Roth is a prominent American rabbi in the Rabbinical Assembly, which is the rabbinical body of Conservative Judaism. He is a former member and chair of the assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards which deals with questions of Jewish law and tradition, and serves as the Louis...

 and Elliot Dorff wrote a responsum on this topic which concluded that shackling and hoisting "unquestionably constitutes a violation of Jewish laws that forbid us to cause undue pain to animals."

Hekhsher Tzedek

Enforcing a commitment to tza'ar ba'alei chayim in food production has been part of the effort of Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...

's Hekhsher Tzedek commission. The Hekhsher Tzedek commission sees compliance with the Humane Farm Animal Care
Humane Farm Animal Care
Humane Farm Animal Care was established to promote and administer its certification and labeling program, Certified Humane Raised & Handled, for meat, dairy, eggs, and poultry raised under its animal care standards. It is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors and retains a...

 Standards (HFAC) as sufficiently preventing unnecessary suffering to animals.

Animal Research

According to the Shulkhan Aruch,"anything that is necessary for medical purposes, or for anything else, is exempt from the prohibition of causing suffering to animals" (Even ha-Ezer 5:14).

Most Jewish authorities allow medical research if it will help people in need, and if the animals do not undergo any unnecessary suffering. Reform Judaism's Central Conference of American Rabbis
Central Conference of American Rabbis
The Central Conference of American Rabbis , founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada, the CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world....

, for example, affirms that animal research is permissble if it will save human lives, so long as animals are subjected to little pain and not used in “frivolous” experiments such as cosmetic testing.

Other areas of concern for animals in Jewish law

Resting on the Sabbath also meant providing rest for the working animals, and people are instructed to feed their animals before they sit down to eat.

At harvest time, the working animals must not be muzzled, so that they can eat of the harvest as they work.

Sports like bullfighting are forbidden by most authorities. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef is the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, a recognised Talmudic scholar and foremost halakhic authority.He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli parliament...

 has characterized bullfighting as “a culture of sinful and cruel people” which is opposed by Torah values. Most authorities oppose recreational hunting on similar grounds.

Some oppose kapparot, a ritual of swinging live chickens over people's heads, on the grounds of Tza'ar ba'alei chayim.

All animals must be kept in adequate conditions.

Concern for Animal Suffering in the Noachide Code

A concern for suffering caused to animals is found in Judaism's Seven Laws of Noah, which apply to all mankind. One of the seven laws prohibits eating a limb from a living animal. This law is derived from Genesis 9:4, as interpreted in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 (Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...

 59a).

Tza'ar ba'alei chayim in Jewish Lore

Compassion for animals is declared to have been the merit of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

 which made him the shepherd of his people (Exodus Rabbah 2), while Judah ha-Nasi saw in his own ailment the punishment for having once failed to show compassion for a frightened calf.

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