Six Israeli Cities Prohibit Live-Chicken Kapparot Ahead of Yom Kippur as Animal Rights Group Calls for Wider Ban

Six Israeli municipalities have announced that they will not allow live chickens to be used for kapparot ahead of Yom Kippur, following pressure from animal rights organization Let the Animals Live to local government leaders across the country.

Tel Mond, Yeruham, Mevaseret Zion, and Yavne joined the initiative this year. Kiryat Bialik and Rishon Lezion, which responded to the organization’s appeal last year, have renewed their commitments.

The six municipalities are joining Kfar Saba, Ra’anana, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Beersheba, Ashkelon, Ramle, and Petah Tikva, which Let the Animals Live says have prohibited the practice within their jurisdictions for several years.

This is the second consecutive year that Let the Animals Live has contacted municipal leaders nationwide to seek restrictions on the use of live chickens during kapparot.

According to the organization, Veterinary Services regulations governing kapparot allow local authorities to prohibit ceremonies involving live chickens within their jurisdictions. Regardless of whether slaughter occurs at the location, organizers are required to obtain approval from the municipality’s veterinary department.

The use of live chickens in kapparot has been criticized by animal welfare advocates for years. In 2019, the Environmental Protection Ministry also encouraged the public to consider alternatives, including donating money to charity instead of conducting the ritual with a chicken.

Let the Animals Live said chickens involved in the ceremony may experience distress from the time they are transported to the event. The organization said the birds may be confined in cramped cages, sometimes without adequate food or water, and exposed to noise, movement, and crowded conditions.

The organization said kapparot can be performed without using live animals. One alternative is to donate money to charity or contribute to charitable institutions.

“Yom Kippur represents introspection, compassion, and mercy, and there is no justification for marking it through a custom that involves fear and severe suffering for animals,” Let the Animals Live CEO Yael Arkin said.

“The kapparot custom can be observed in a way that respects tradition while at the same time helping people in need, through a donation to charity. We welcome the authorities that have already made a clear decision and call on additional heads of local authorities to join them: Do not grant permits for the chicken kapparot custom, and ensure that the public space under their responsibility is not used to harm animals,” she added.

Religious and Community Response

Traditional and ultra-Orthodox communities defend the use of live chickens in kapparot as a deeply rooted custom intended to symbolize spiritual atonement before Yom Kippur. Some religious leaders view outright bans as an infringement on religious freedom or as an attempt to deepen tensions between secular and observant populations.

In areas where the practice is not completely banned, authorities often seek to regulate it through strict veterinary oversight, permits, and confinement of the ritual to designated locations, such as courtyards or butcher stalls. Supporters of this approach say it preserves the custom while reducing public nuisance, sanitation concerns, and potential health risks.