The Jewish Ethicist: Judaism and Hunting

BH Is it permissible to kill an animal that threatens your property? We have coyotes here

I think hunting for sport is cruel, and I am a gunowner! There are other ways to manage over populations (for example deer sterilizations, quick, proven and low risk) so that old, regurgitated argument of the NRA is ridiculous and self serving. I like to target shoot and believe in second amendment rights for responsible adults; very much including rights to own firearms for protection of self and family. However, killing of animals for sport, and worse yet doing so with means that can inflict unnecessary pain in the process (e.g. bow hunting) is cruel and cowardly. If a man needs to test his wits against an animal where the win is considered killing or hurting the animal, it is only unfortunate that animals themselves can't be armed and have an "equal" chance at said game. So, why not do something useful and go match your wits against some scum like ISIS etc. There is no need to kill animals for fun. Reminds me of the old movie, My Cousin Vinnie...the doe prancing along, drink of water from a babbling brook, and "POW" out of no where someone shoots the animal so they can mount a trophy! Seriously...this is something to be ashamed of. I am not against eating meat, but animals should be at least raised, killed, and processed as humanely as possible. And any Jew who shoots for "fun" should really do a little self introspection. Besides, it may not be just one animal you are killing. What about the other animals (dependents) that may be back at the den, and starve or die because of your action?

What about people who don't have a kosher butcher nearby or a place to raise their own cattle, chickens etc? Should we support the cruel meat producing industry that basically tortures and terrorizes the meat products they produce? Even shocking chickens so they lay there eggs in a timely fashion and a thousand other cruel methods across the field.

I hunt. It's far less cruel than what a person buys at an every day super market.

Where do kosher butchers get their cattle to butcher, do they raise them themselves or buy from the mass producers who turn cattle into cannibals and all sorts of other wicked practices all for the sake of making a buck?

It's a fallen world and sometimes the lesser of two evils IS in fact the better choice.

First, most hunters don’t hunt “for sport”. We are mainly utilitarian, eating the meat from our kills. We utilize the hide (deer skin gloves). We have the UTMOST respect for the animals we kill, and make every effort to kill them with one shot, so it is as humane as possible.

Even trophy hunters provide a service They feed entire communities in Africa and contribute to their economic success Trophy hunting has saved many animals from being driven to extinction.

Many of my Jewish friends fish. Why is fishing acceptable to nearly every Jew I know, but hunting a grouse or fowl is not? Killing for food is killing for food, correct?

Then you have the deep rooted belief in Jewish Tradition that you must care for your environment. Hunting is a large part of that. Without regulated hunting, deer and other species would experience disease, over-population and many other dynamics that are contrary to the ecosystem views of many of my Jewish friends.

Each deer requires 6 pounds of vegetation a day to meet their nutritional requirements. While a deer can survive on its fat reserves for 30 days over winter, harsh winters do result in severe winter kills where populations exceed the carrying capacity of the land. Starvation is far more cruel to the animal than one bullet or arrow could ever be.

Genesis 27:3 “Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison.”

Would hunting not be acceptable for crop protection?

The notion that hunting is unsafe is a bold LIE. With more than 16 million hunters, there are less than 100 hunting related shooting fatalities a year. Its safer than golf, cheerleading or driving in your car.

The "traits" hunters have are knowing a kill is a kill. They respect life.


In my mind at least, I think Jewish people should be keeping a more open mind regarding hunting.

A few quick points. To relegate the Jewish legal analysis to just hunting as a sport is flawed. Hunting does so much more. Suburban sprawl has made hunting an absolute necessity to manage wildlife with less land that is now overpopulated resulting in, among other things, serious fatal car accidents, significant damage to farm crops and more. As a result, Hunters are some of our best environmentalists and conservationists, a value one would think would figure prominently in Jewish education but often overlooked. In addition, as noted above, it teaches a vital survival skill that hopefully no one will need, but there have been times in our modern history where Jews have needed it. Further, many Rabbi's focus on the inflicting of unnecessary pain which I frankly find hypocritical because those same Rabbi's and more support certain Midwestern Kosher slaughter houses regardless of the conditions to actual humans (frankly no so pleasant for the animals either). Ignoring for the moment the treatment of the humans, there could be plenty of arguments that the conditions of the animals in the field are like a luxury vacation by comparison (and far fewer chemicals and hormones pumped into them).

"Hunting can also be more dangerous than other sports, and as a result doesn't sit well with Judaism's extreme emphasis on the value of human life."  You must be kidding. According to the American National Safety Council, cheerleading, baseball, football, soccer and most other common sports are far more dangerous than hunting, in terms of injuries and deaths. How did you not bother to investigate these facts before rendering an opinion?  Why, Rabbi Meir, did you so easily fall back on feelings and notions, instead of actual facts? I'll say why: Jews today are so utterly dependent on everyone around them for their food, clothing, heat, etc that they cannot conceive of being self reliant. It's artificial, Rabbi, this current lifestyle so many frumme Yidden live. Don't be an enabler, be a real leader. Aish HaTorah has done wonderful work with chozrim b'teshuva. Your challenge, as evidenced here, is to not lock those lucky few into a fake Artscroll Judaism, but to empower them to live full lives within Halacha. To be thoughtful and knowledgable Jews. Please re-write your poorly done essay on hunting, and incorporate the comments here so it is thoughtful and full of knowledge. Not full of lazy notions based on silly stereotypes.

Rabbi Meir-

I heard once that for "shailos", you ask a shul rav who understands his kehilla before a rav in a yeshiva who sits in the ivory tower of academia. Your statement "in this case, the animal must not be killed etc" suggests that you have never actually gone hunting. Perhaps this article sits well with the non-hunting non-religious urban liberal Jewish diaspora Aish clientele, but by presenting yourself as an authority on ethics you are claiming to be an authority for those who actually do hunt.

You speak of 10 million hunting licenses in the US, which includes deer licenses. There are 15-40 million deer in the US. According to Insurance Journal, deer kill 200 people in car accidents and cause $4 billion in auto damage annually. This doesn't include the damage they cause to crops and trees and their role in spreading lyme disease. Hunters pay for the privilege of doing a job the state would have to do anyway and serve a vital role in the land management and protecting the economy.

You state that “the Torah does not forbid hunting.” Is that not enough for you? In Gan Eden, Adam’s adding restrictive language caused Chava to sin. Your attitude is precisely why many people don't ask shailos of rabbonim. If the knee jerk answer is to assur, why ask?

You quote one Acharon who recommends against hunting. Plenty of rabbonim today assur the internet, so what does one opinion prove?

One argument is that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not hunt. But David Hamelech did.

If the worry is about the character traits, that should apply to fishing as well. And what of shochtim? Is it okay for you to be oyver on lifnei eever and make the shochet develop negative traits because you want to eat steak? Does paying a shochet to do the dirty work absolve you?

I am not sure how hunting became part of your business ethics column, but please stick to topics which you better understand.

Quoting an 18th century rav, at the center of Jewish powerlessness and at one of the European locales for cementing the galut mentality that plagues Jews to this day, is really poor scholarship. Hunting is mutar, period. Plenty of halachic sources allow it for any number of reasons: Land stewardship, crop protection, human protection, animal protection, recreation, etc. Kosher animals not allowed for korbanot, like deer, must be shected d'rabbanan, not d'oraita. Today we treat all kosher meat like animals that must be shected d'oraita. So we don't eat what we hunt with gun or bow. The willfully inaccurate translation of tzad tzayud to mean trapping, when it specifically means hunting, really gets at the core of opposition to hunting: Don't do anything 'goyishe'. Come on. Jewish kings hunted from chariots. David hamelech fought bears and lions. The European shtetl galut mentality is very much alive and well today, both among Haredim and assimilated politically Left Jews. They both worship Jewish powerlessness and identify with a Jew who, as quoted in our article above, is basically a shlmiel who sits at home and isn't too active. It's a pathetic caricature of Jews, who were at one time tough, warlike, fighters, and still, amazingly!, not "goyishe"! This image of the feminized, weak, docile, compliant Jew has been handed down from Europe for several centuries, the result of accepting our own powerlessness and giving in to it. The haredi community largely opposed early Zionists, with their (oh pshaw) guns. I'm deeply frustrated by a halachic source that a) doesn't know the first thing about hunting, b) won't take the time to learn about it before rendering a (silly) opinion on it, and c) isn't open to it despite it being mutar. This attitude favoring stringencies on top of stringencies that then become "minhag" isn't halachic Judaism. It has become something else. And thus is hunting artificially frowned upon. Jews, we gotta toughen up, be more self sufficient.

I am a retired Jewish cop that still carries a firearm and I enjoy hunting for meat, and not "sport".

Excuse me, but in perek Helek in Sanhedrin we find a Story that David was, yes, hunting with a bow, then he inadvertedly entered the Philistine territory where he had an unpleasant meet with Goliaths brother and mother.
It says there that the Satan disguised himself as a deer to attract David to his demise. Yet, Davids servant and general, the brother of Yoav saved him by invoking the Shem HaMeforash.
So i dont know if its literally hunting, but we see that one of the biggest Tzaddikim in the World used to hunt.
Thank you very much

I am not a hunter but I am Jewish. One thing I can't help ponder is how animals die when it’s a “natural death” in the wild. It’s most certainly a cruel death by disease or predator compared to a hunter. The visualization of jackals or coyotes tearing an old, sick, or young animal apart in the process of eating it alive compared to a hunter’s bullet is a terrible contrast. So when people hunt to stop starvation from overpopulation or being taken naturally by cruel unthinking predators, I do have to wonder what HaShem would want us to do ? It’s not an easy answer for sure. Perhaps when as partners with HaShem we perfect the world we will all eat as Adam and Chava did in Gan Eden. I have a hard time buying meat in a kosher market thus shielding myself from the unpleasant task of slaughtering the animal myself and koshering the meat. So it’s a hard issue. I don’t see hunting as a past time but as a skill used to feed people and manage wild life in contrast of how they die in nature. It’s a difficult and personal question all of us who eat flesh must face. I wish I had been brought up not eating meat at all just so I could be out of the whole equation.

Nothing is more satisfying than a good kill! Not only is there enjoyment in stalking the creature and bringing it down, but there's the preparation of the carcass and plenty of good meat afterwards, if required. It gives the individual a sense of power and purpose, and an adrenaline rush like no other. It helps develop special skills: it takes much practice to hit a deer cleanly between the eyes. Compassion and morality are irrelevant: "animals" exist for human use in whichever way they see fit. (Although humans are technically "primates" , they are a special case. However, other primates do make excellent hunting material when the opportunity arises!). Lastly, billions of animals are slaughtered every-day, usually by having their throats slit on a production line after spending their lives in cages. So why even question the killing of a few million animals by those who enjoy doing it themselves in a natural environment?

Aside from the fact that this article is based on Torah, and these comments are not, Bill obviously doesn't know the first thing about hunting. I'm not a hunter, but anyone who has done even a little reading about it knows that no one tries to shoot a deer "between the eyes" -- or any other animal, for that matter -- especially with a bow and arrow. It's not the "kill zone", and I imagine that it would ruin the trophy too :-)

I am Jewish, before I coverted, I hunted a lot of deer for food ( I grew up on a farm which backed onto a national park). My Grandfather and his friends taught me that if I was going to shoot it had to be behind the ear or between the eyes, so as to effect a clean, instantaneous and humane kill. The heart is situated just above and to the right of the fore legs. but this was discouraged as was a small area to hit. Lungs were out of the question. This style of killing is the norm in New Zealand. I have not hunted since my conversion as I tend to agree largely with the points suggested in this article. Bill hunting for sport, not survival is cruelty of the utmost degree, I hope one day you will change your perspective.

The correct way to shoot a deer is to take a heart shot into the body behind the front quarters. Responsible hunters find the time to target practice for accuracy. In the hunt camp around the dinner table, hunters regale one another with tales of how th
ey couldnt get a shot at a great looking deer because it never turned sideways!
No real hunter tries for a shot at the deer's boney skull to make a kill. At a buck a bulket, it just doesn't pay. Plus it can't normally provide an instantaneous death for the animal.

It sounds to me that you are putting a modern liberal spin on something that was never traditionally found distasteful. The ancient Hebrew were shepherds not hunters because there isn't any good hunting in the Middle East. When Jews moved to Europe and the U.S. where there are forests with kosher animals roaming around, there isn't any reason why Jews shouldn't go hunting, especially considering it's implicitly endorsed by Leviticus 17:13. I think the Torah makes it clear that Hashem wanted us to eat meat.

What is a monetary loss is involved? We have many deer who are destroying landscaping. Would it be permitted for us to allow our non-Jewish staff and others from the local community to kill the deer?

A huge problem is that whether or not the meat of the slain animal is eaten, cruelty is inherent in hunting. There is a high injury and crippling rate, for instance, in duck and goose hunting. Millions are injured each year by hunters and not retrieved nor eating. In archery, it's common to leave a deer or other ungulate to die for a half hour minimum, sometimes, many hours more before tracking. Bad shots lead to miserable suffering for the animals. And because this is a general characteristic of hunting, I do not believe it's acceptable except as abject necessity. Very little hunting in modern culture is abject necessity, especially when one considers the over-consumption of meat by most westerners.

I've seen several hunting videos lately: One on YouTube, a boy recorded by his father shooting his first deer FIVE times with a compound bow before finally killing him. He first hit him in the neck. This is irresponsible (and the boy didn't look too happy either). Another one on one of the hunting gear sites showed a seasoned hunter that didn't kill his prey with his compound bow, and was unable to track him. He talked about how he couldn't sleep that night because he didn't come home with his big buck, not because he caused the unnecessary suffering of an animal. I'm not against hunting per se, but you do tend to see this blood-thirsty elation over the kill and the trophy. Some people do indeed need the meat to survive, and they live on it all winter (I doubt if most use every part of the animal, like the Indians did). There is no question that our insane need for another Walmart destroys more of our environment and kills more wildlife, but that's not really the issue. Anyway, in the end, a Jew can not eat the meat of an animal that was not killed properly according to Jewish law (which is designed to eliminate the animal's suffering). On top of it, when the animal dies in pain, it releases hormones and other chemicals into the meat that is then consumed by the human that eats it. That must have some effect on the human.

Cruelty is inherent in the animal world. Remove humans from the mix and the day to day existence of a wild animal is no less stress free. Deer populations and most other game animals in the US are managed. With the absence of large predators, when left unchecked deer populations explode. Cruelty is allowing emaciated and starving deer to wander around looking for food. The first commenter, Bill, is obviously not a hunter. No hunter I know gets a sense of "power or purpose" from killing an animal. Most are sober minded adults who take no great enjoyment in killing for killing's sake. Only someone who has spent no time in the natural world would be so deluded about hunting.

1)Not all hunting is beguiling an animal, but a prayer to be fed. 2)A wild animal killed lived till it's last moment in freedom. As opposed to domesticated animals. 3)The two biggest causes of species extinction are urban development and then agriculture. Hunting creates food source from a forest that supports life for a variety of plants and animals, whereas agriculture promotes sterility and monoculture at the cost of valuable habitat. Every agricultural plot is former habitat and equates to suffering animals, whether one is aware of it or not. Hunting looks at the cost of life directly in the eye.

The idea that wild animals are free and domesticated animals are not is a very romantic notion. However, the reality is that wild animals are subject to disease and vermin, harsh and unfavorable weather conditions, food and water shortages, and non-human predators. Domesticated animals are well cared for, well sheltered, well fed and watered, and well protected.

is a good pastime if all things are kept in perspective. Everyone I know, living here in the Northwest, eats the animals that are hunted. This includes deer, elk, ducks, and geese, as well as fish. With the high cost of food, this is an important part of life here. Stats show that boys and girls who grow up with hunting and firearms training are far less likely to commit crimes and have a better respect for both nature and the firearms used. All the animals that I have harvested have always ended up on the dinner table. Shalom!

I've been attracted to hunting but never indulged for reasons the author cites. If one is in need of food it seems perfectly OK but for sport? I'd say the same re boxing ,football many other activities where inflicting physical pain on others is the goal or at best unavoidable. I do experience some pleasure watching those sports but same holds true for hearing some gossip, or seeing immodestly clad women I suspect that the enjoyment does not come from a spiritual place[godly soul] and I agree with Rabbi Landau that Jews in general and a ben Torah in particular need not be involved. That said I think 5 10 and 11 made valid comments

Nimrod was the founder of the pagan religion of Babylon. That religion had human sacrifices and cannibalism. I seriously doubt that Nimrod was hunting deer or any type of animal fit for consumption. Isaac told Esau to go get some game and make it the way I like it and bring it to me to eat. Then I will bless you before I die. I think Esau used to bring Isaac some of his game prior to this scene in the Torah, because of the fact he knew how his father liked it to be fixed. I rest my case.

I am so glad to have read this. I personally consider hunting for sport, something I could not in conscience condone. And yet I know many who do this. For me, there is this question, how can it be fun to kill an animal, for no reason really, but for the joy of running it down. That is so inimical to my way of thinking. I hate the whole idea. Yes, people do hunt for survival. When the American Indian did this it was with great sorrow, and reverence for the killed animal. There was a sense of the sanctity of that life. That to me, is a soul thing, and that at least I can deeply comprehend. But the joy of it, is not something I will ever comprehend. Better a shooting range with a moving target that is not alive.

1. Sometimes communities (in the US) will permit hunting to cull overpopulation, even of herbivores who may starve in winter if there are too many grazing animals. 2. It is also sometimes necessary to kill wild carnivores if they are threatening a human-inhabited area. (This can include either specific animals that have attacked humans, or any animals of the species that are threatening humans and livestock in the area.) I am guessing that since Judaism does not completely forbid hunting, it would be permitted in these instances (esp. the second), but I'd appreciate hearing from the author.

Good point, Rachel. I think that protection from a threatening wild animal is obviously permitted and necessary. I'd also be interested to know about culling the herd, for the benefit and health and well-being of the herd itself.

It seems that the Torah takes a much kinder eye to the sport of fishing? Why is this? Let's assume that one fishes to eat the fish.

Perhaps educating yourselves to the plight of overpopulous wildlife: the elk shot by the government in Estes Park or the wolves in Yellowstone Park. Alligators, non-native pythons and wild boars in FL. How about animals that starve to death in winter? Starving to death is horrendous. Hunting is a humane way to end the life of a wild animal that would otherwise starve or be systematically killed. Animals don't have souls. Are you this concerned about all of the aborted babies, children in the sex trade and human trafficking?

I was a hunter for about 50 years . I stopped only because of age and inability to withstand the riggors of true hunting . ( 86) hunting birds provides many fine meals to the hunter and family and wild game such as deer does provide food to boys homes etc . I know cause thats what I did . they welcome the help. James

Hunting as a sport is unethical. One hunts if one needs food, otherwise it is just killing for sport. As much as I appreciate that hunters really care about the wilderness, it is still no excuse to kill another living thing unless one needs food. I agree that there is horror at the slaughterhouses, and that must be addressed. Slaughternouse horror is of no less consequence than hunting. And as for fishing, the rules are the same. Unless you need that fish for food, there is no ethical reason to kill it.

Hunting is antithetical to Judaism which has concern for animal welfare even requiring animals to rest on Shabbat. I am a Jewish vegetarian living in Israel and look forward to the day when we return to not eating animals as before the flood. I know Orthodox Judaism frowns on vegetarianism but we'd all be better for it ,not to mention the animals!

I think the author missed the biggest problem here-- hunting (as generally practiced today) involves shooting an animal, in which case the animal is not kosher. Hunting for the sake of killing something seems wrong; hunting for the sake of food seems no worse (and, quite possibly, better) than eating food raised and slaughtered in modern agriculture.

Rabbi Yecheskel Landau was my great grandfather quite a few generations ago and became known by the title of his sefer of responsa, the Noda B'yehuda. In the frontice of the book are all the generations of rabbis in our family going back to Rashi. Than you for citing him.

My mother always tols me she was the seventh generation from the Noda B’yehuda, making me the 8th Gen. I would love to connect with you to find a possible connection.

I have to disagree with the assessment that hunting is dangerous and cultivates cruelty. Firearm sports in general are much safer than other sports. You are not trying to tackle anyone, throw a small hard ball at speeds approaching 100mph, or trying to run and kick a ball away from other people. Again, generally hunting is about being in nature and enjoying the outdoors. Unless hunting is to provide food for sustenance, harvesting an animal is secondary to going into the field and enjoying that experience. A quick kill benefits the hunter as well as the animal. I doubt anyone would go through the expense and time required to go hunting in order to act out cruelty. Someone like that will find an easier way to "fulfill" that desire. While the meat is not kosher, hunting for the purpose of donating the meat to a non-kosher soup kitchen or pantry fulfills several mitzvot.

I am a person who enjoys hunting, but am somewhat troubled by the lack of reference in the Tanach about hunting itself. appreciate your pointing out that there are really only two references by the writers of two prominant hunters, yet I find the above reference to hunting by (at the time) servant David to King Saul about hunting partridges. I derive from that statement that hunting was not unknown. Could I therefore derive from this discussion that there is no prohibition to hunting for sport, as long as it is also for eating?

Sure, anyone, camouflaged with a hunting rifle, can shoot a dear from a distance. A Jewish hunter has to sneak up on the animal with a very sharp knife...

Although I am not a hunter myself, many of my friends are hunters, and I have been happy to know that they are also extremely ethical and concerned about the treatment of the animals they pursue. Furthermore, hunters are among those who are most concerned about the wilderness, because the wilderness is crucial to their enjoyment of hunting. I have seen hunter friends who have seen tracts of wilderness destroyed for human development actually cry. Preservation of the wilderness is tremendously important, and hunters are among those who deeply understand that importance. An additional comment: Contrast hunting against modern assembly-line abatoirs: whether an abatoir is kosher or non-kosher, the treatment of animals is all too often a despicable horror, both to the animals and the workers. The kosher rules are simply not enough. Lastly, some of your comments make no sense, e.g., "when hunting is carried out in accordance with regulations it may be harmless to wildlife." That statement can only be true if the hunter completely misses. And a question: If hunting is allegedly ethically problematic, should fishing also be problematic?

I'll do my hunting at the supermarket

I love target-shooting with firearms, air guns, recurve bows, and crossbows. I also love hiking in the woods and getting outdoors in general. I have no reason to go out of my way to kill an animal. If I could eat it, perhaps I would, but unless -- as Meir pointed out above -- it were properly shechted, it wouldn't be kosher and I couldn't eat it.