OIA26-0390
6 July 2026
Mohammed Khan
[FYI request #34722 email]
Dear Mohammed,
Thank you for your email of 18 May 2026, requesting information relating to oversight of
Shechita slaughter of poultry in New Zealand. Your request has been considered under the
Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).
On 12 June 2026 the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) extended the time limit to respond
to your request to 6 July.
The kil ing of animals for meat and food products in New Zealand must be conducted
according to the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (the Act). The Act makes it an offence to kil an
animal in a way that causes unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress.
The code of welfare for commercial slaughter was last amended in 2018. It contains
minimum standards and recommendations for best practice for the slaughter of animals in
New Zealand. Specialist veterinarians are hired by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
as part of an active verification programme to ensure that animal welfare is maintained and
the Animal Welfare Act and codes of welfare are complied with at slaughterhouses across
New Zealand.
Section 15A of the Code of Welfare: Commercial Slaughter which regulates shechita
slaughter of poultry for domestic consumption was introduced in 2010. The introduction of
the standard gives oversight of kosher slaughter of poultry which was not previously
recorded separately. This has enabled high standards of animal welfare to be kept while
upholding kosher observance for New Zealand’s Jewish population.
You requested the following:
I have some questions regarding how the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and
subsequently MPI has acted to perform its duties regarding said regulation:
1: Section 15A provides that "The number of poultry that wil be subject to shechita
wil not exceed the number necessary to meet the needs, within New Zealand, of the
local Jewish community and kosher observant visitors to New Zealand".
Question 1a) What actions has MPI taken to ensure that the inhumane slaughter of
poultry under Section 15A does not exceed those needs? A summary of any actions
by year is fine.
Section 15A(d) concerning shechita of poultry under the Code of Welfare Commercial
Slaughter identifies the estimated poultry consumption needs in New Zealand as no more
than 5000 birds each year. As shown in Table One below, no more than half the estimated
maximum requirement has been slaughtered in a year since the minimum standard was
introduced in 2010.
Ministry for Primary Industries
Charles Fergusson Building
38-42 Bowen Street
PO Box 2526
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
mpi.govt.nz
MPI continues to engage with the Auckland Hebrew Congregation and Wellington Jewish
Community Centre to review permitted numbers of kosher-slaughtered poultry required to
meet the domestic consumption needs of New Zealand’s Jewish community.
Representatives from these organisations provide the certification of Shochets (kosher-
certified butchers) as required under Section 15A, as wel as monthly slaughter reports
provided by the commercial entities performing the shechita slaughter. These requirements
ensure MPI has frequently updated information on who is slaughtering chickens under
shechita requirements and the volumes processed.
Question 1b) Please provide the number of chickens and/or other poultry that have
been slaughtered under Section 15A, by year, since 2010.
The annual totals for chickens slaughtered following Shechita protocols since 2010 are
provided in Table One:
Table One: Annual total kosher chicken slaughters since 2010
Year
Total
Year
Total
2010
446
2018
2000
2011
400
2019
0
2012
2501
2020
2000
2013
808
2021
0
2014
1243
2022
808
2015
564
2023
2216
2016
2096
2024
0
2017
2408
2025
0
Question 1c) Since 2010, has MPI at any point provided approval for the export of
any kosher chicken meat or chicken-based products, which is to say, for the export
of inhumanely slaughtered poultry products that were kil ed for a purpose specifically
other than "to meet the needs, within New Zealand, of the local Jewish community
and kosher observant visitors to New Zealand"?
The export of any kosher-slaughtered animal products has been prohibited since the
implementation of Minimum Standard 15A. The standard is implemented explicitly for
domestic needs only.
2: Section 15A that "The Minister and the Auckland Hebrew Congregation and the
Wellington Jewish Community Centre wil from time to time discuss the number of
poultry required to meet the needs of the local Jewish community and kosher
observant visitors to New Zealand."
Question 2a) I appreciate that there wil have been a lot of initial discussion around
this in 2010 and possibly 2011. As such, to ensure that MPI can answer this OIA
request efficiently and promptly, please provide all details held by MPI, in their
original form, about any such discussions since January 2012.
A search for correspondence between MPI and the Auckland Hebrew Congregation or
Wellington Jewish Community Centre concerning this part of your request returned a large
amount of information. To identify the actual correspondence in scope of your request from
this search would require substantial research and collation. Consequently, this part of your
request is refused under section 18(f) of the OIA -
the information requested cannot be made
available without substantial collation or research.
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Should you have any concerns with this response, I would encourage you to raise these with
the Ministry for Primary Industries at
[email address]. Alternatively, you
are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143 or at
[email address].
Trish Mead
Acting Director Animal Health and Welfare
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