A biblical injunction to take care of pets

SUZANNE BELLING

Most pets are acceptable according to South African law, except tortoises and other indigenous animals, says an observant Jewish veterinarian who does not want to be named for professional reasons. “The unusual animals are bred in captivity and are used to living this way – so there is no problem having a pet that is different,” he said.

The SPCA, among other animal protection organisations, invites people to visit its centres, stating that “working hand-in-paw with our animal behaviourists, they assess the temperament of each animal to see what kind of owner will suit them best”.

Recently, there was a shocked reaction to President Jacob Zuma’s remark in the press that having a pet was white, not African, culture. He said black South Africans who bought a dog and took it for walks and to the vet, were copying white culture.

Speaking at a traditional ceremony in KwaZulu-Natal, he stated that people who loved dogs more than humans had a “lack of humanity”. He said there was a new generation of Africans who tried to adopt other lifestyles.

But what of the Jewish community and its teachings regarding animals and their care?

“The Torah is replete with instances and laws which highlight the extent to which we are concerned about cruelty to animals. For example, the Torah prohibits using an ox and a mule to jointly plough a field (Devarim 22:10), the logical reason being that the two are unequally matched,” Rabbi Gidon Fox, of the Pretoria Hebrew Congregation, told the SA Jewish Report.

“The Sefer Hachinuch in Mitzvah 550 says that this prohibition is part of the biblical prohibition against cruelty to animals, known as Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim. It is manifest also in the fact that we are obliged to assist an animal when we see it overburdened by the load it is carrying (Exodus 23:5). These and others are a reflection and implementation of the biblical prohibition against cruelty to animals.”

Jews were so concerned with this prohibition that the Shulchan Aruch (OC 167:6) instructed us not to eat unless we ensured that our animals had eaten first, so much so that if a person had already made a bracha on the bread but had not yet eaten, he was allowed to instruct someone else to feed the animals and need not make another bracha on the bread.

“Feeding one’s animals is an element of the meal and not an unrelated superfluous issue,” Rabbi Fox said. “The Mishne Halachos, Rabbi Menashe Klein (6:216), points out that not only may one not eat prior to one’s animals eating, the same is true also for fish as well.”

Regarding the killing of Cecil, the famous lion by a tourist in Zimbabwe, Rabbi Fox referred to the teaching by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Choshen Mishpat 2:47) who advised against physically killing insects, such as flies. It was not a prohibition, but the killing should be done in an indirect manner. In this instance, it was better to put down poison to kill rats. This was because killing was not a Jewish act and should be avoided directly.

Rabbi Yechezel Landau (Yoreh Deah 10) prohibited hunting and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (Yechave Da’at) forbade watching traditional Spanish bullfighting. In days of yore, even if an ox had killed a person, it could only be put down on the decision of 23 dayanim (judges).

The veterinarian said dogs should be kept inside unless suitable shelter was provided.

Regarding human consumption of meat, he said the Noachide Laws, incumbent on all people, prohibited meat to be cut off a living animal.

In keeping with the stringent laws prohibiting any benefit from a mixture of meat and milk “you cannot feed an animal milk and meat together – there should be separate bowls for them – and, on Pesach a Jew must ensure that there is no chometz in the animal food they provide to their pets”.

He added that the Torah prevented us from castrating animals and a rabbinical decree prevented an animal from being spayed.

Rabbi Fox added that it was permissible to visit a zoo “for even though the animals are in captivity, it provides a person (with) an opportunity to see and appreciate the wonders of Hashem’s creations, their diversity and majesty.

“Naturally, the zoo must ensure that the animals are well cared for.”