A highly specific slaughtering method, known as sh'ḥitah (shechita), was introduced to ensure that the animal is drained of as much blood as possible. The practice aims to combine maximum blood removal with the least possible pain for the animal. Kosher sh'ḥitah is required for mammals and birds, but fish are exempt from these rules. To promote rapid blood flow, the animal's neck is cut with an extremely sharp knife. In mammals, both the windpipe and the food pipe must be sliced through; in birds, cutting just one of the two is enough. This approach causes very little suffering, since the animal loses consciousness almost immediately from the quick blood loss, followed by death within a few minutes—or even sooner.
The professional slaughterer—known as a shochet or shochetet (plural shoch'tim)—is expected to be a religious and caring person. A core tenet of the kashrut system is the strict requirement that those who take on the duty of killing animals remain fully aware of the preciousness and holiness of life as God's gift. Jewish law (halakhah) therefore insists that the slaughterer be scrupulous in observing even the smallest rules. Taking a life, even an animal's, calls for a serious attitude and never a callous or uncaring one. Because of the task's religious gravity, a blessing must be recited before the animal is killed. The slaughterer uses a set of knives that must be sharpened to the highest possible standard. Yet, before each use, the blade must be checked for any tiny nick, so that no imperfection tears the animal's flesh during the cut. After the slaughter, the knife must be inspected again to ensure nothing interfered with the incision. All of this is done to prevent the animal from realizing that its life is ending until it loses consciousness just before death.
In large industrial abattoirs, a system is needed to hold animals still and in position while the shochet carries out the slaughter. The more modern solution uses a special pen that restrains the animal comfortably, with a device that keeps the head fixed and exposes the neck to the knife. Slaughtering for kosher purposes is a very precise and highly technical process that requires skill in many different areas. For this reason, only a trained shochet is permitted to perform the slaughter of animals for consumption.
