 270 chickens neglected - 35 drowned
Brooklyn, NY (US)Date: Oct 16, 2005
County: Kings
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Jacob Kalisch
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An Orthodox Jewish man was charged with animal cruelty for causing the drowning deaths of 35 chickens meant for slaughter in a religious ritual and keeping hundreds more in squalid conditions.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals alerted authorities to Jacob Kalisch, 37, of Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. Kalisch is accused of mistreating 307 chickens found Oct. 16, 2005. They were crammed into wooden crates inside a vacant lot on Coney Island Avenue, sources said.
ASPCA investigators seized the chickens, which were packed in crates eight to 10 high and partially covered by a tarp. About 35 were found to have drowned in a rainstorm, sources said.
Many of the chickens were covered in feces and later showed evidence of parasites, sources said.
The chickens were supposed to be offered to Orthodox Jews who observe the kapparos ritual prior to Yom Kippur.
Observers of kapparos typically pay $25 to purchase a live chicken, which is then waved overhead by a rabbi in a ceremony that expiates a believer's sins. The chicken is then supposed to be quickly slaughtered by a kosher butcher and the meat given to a poor family.
Kalisch allegedly told investigators his well-intentioned plans went awry when he was unable to find customers to take the birds off his hands.
Authorities took the 270 confiscated chickens to the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in upstate Saugerties, said the facility's director, Kathy Stevens. "They were all grossly underweight. They were all dehydrated. A few of them were permanently paralyzed from being tightly packed into crates," Stevens said. Once they had shelter and food, "There was a chorus of chicken coos and chicken clucks that very night." "They were so happy. They were running and playing and happy to be chickens for the first time in their lives," she said.
Kalisch could not be reached for comment. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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