K A S H R U T . C O M_©

The following news is from the JerusalemPost.com and JTA posted on December 2, 2010 with addional information posted on December 5, 2010.

On Nov. 26, agreement was reached to allow the kosher slaughter of poultry on a limited scale after a prohibition was put in place last May. Beef is being imported from Australia.
The local government dropped its objections to the practice only two days before it was scheduled to be debated in court, where a judge would have determined whether or not the ban was an infringement on religious rights. A ban on the preparation of kosher mutton and beef remains in effect, but is being negotiated.
New Zealand authorities had forbidden the local preparation of kosher meat on grounds of animal welfare concerns, saying the method, which does not allow the stunning of livestock before slaughter, was inhumane.
It seems that the agriculture minister made this decision to preserve trade with Muslim countries that could be adversely affected if kosher slaughtering was allowed while the government required that halal meat be stunned prior to being slaughtered.

New Zealand's small Jewish community of about 6,800 people is having trouble paying the legal fees from their legal challenge to protect Scheta in New Zealand. They are asking people to make a contribution to help by sending a check to L.S.S., 200 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10023. Make the check payable to Lincoln Square Synagogue, and be sure to write "New Zealand" in the memo line.