The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos is a project of Machipongo based United Poultry Concerns
NEW YORK, June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – On June 6, 2017, the New York State Appellate Division, First Department, rendered a decision with respect to the appeal regarding Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos v. New York City Police Department, et al, a lawsuit seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the NYPD and other city agencies to enforce the fifteen laws that are violated by the Jewish ritual known as Kaporos. Kaporos involves the slaughtering of 60,000 chickens on public streets. The lower court dismissed the action, and the Appellate Division affirmed the lower courtt’s decision. The appeal was filed by Alliance attorney Nora Constance Marino in June of 2016.
The central issue of the lawsuit hinges on whether or not the city agencies have “discretion” to enforce the laws they choose. Plaintiffs claimed that the health codes and animal cruelty statutes are mandatory, meaning there is no discretion, and enforcement is mandatory. Defendants claimed they do in fact have discretion, and enforcement is not mandatory. Three of the five appellate justices on the panel agreed with defendants, and due to the majority, the lower court decision was affirmed. Two of the justices, however, dissented, and filed a separate opinion. In the dissenting opinion, it was noted that the “plaintiffs have a right to the relief they seek.”
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