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Kapparot - An Annual Orthodox Jewish Chicken Ritual That Happens in New York City
What is Kapparot?
In the week leading up to Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday, the streets of Brooklyn, New York become home to one of the largest wet markets in America.
Anywhere from 50,000 - 100,000 live chickens are used in an Orthodox Jewish ritual.
The ritual involves Orthodox Jews waving a live chicken above their head, reciting a prayer, and then disposing of the chicken.
Orthodox Jews believe all their sins are transferred to the chicken during this ritual, and they become cleansed.
What Happens To The Dead Chickens?
There are multiple ways the chickens are disposed of:
1. The chicken will be slaughtered and the meat will be donated to the poor.
2. The chicken will be slaughtered and the meat will be disposed off.
3. In some cases, the chicken will be slaughtered and left to rot.
4. In more extreme cases, the chicken will be beaten to death.
This involves grabbing the chicken by its feet and slamming it against a hard surface repeatedly.
PETA have claimed that more than two-thirds of the birds are simply thrown in the trash.
How Sanitary is It?
The chickens are often kept in horrible conditions, packed tightly in cages where they are left for days.
In 2022, rain poured over NYC for 4 days straight, and the chickens were left outdoors, packed tightly in plastic crates, with no food or water.
Many of the chickens were sick and and died in the crates, yet they were still handled with bare hands by both children and the elderly.
This practice is usually highly unsanitary, with hygiene standards being extremely poor, leaving the streets of Brooklyn littered with blood, feces, rotting dead chickens and harmful bacteria for days.
The chance of a dangerous infection spawning from the ritual is extremely high.
Has It Been Banned in NYC?
There have been widespread calls to ban Kapparot in NYC.
Some members of the Jewish community also say this tradition is outdated and needs to end.
To this day, this Orthodox Jewish ritual is still practiced in New York City annually.
It’s worth noting that Kapparot takes place on a much larger scale in Israel.
Mike