Shechita is commonly referred to, by Jews at least, as the most humane way to slaughter an animal. Not just that, but I have heard many times, and it seems at least most people I know are under the same impression regarding shechita, that shechita is considered to be painless. The reasons I have heard are - the knife is so sharp, the cut is so quick, the cutting of the arteries makes it instantaneous, and maybe some other reasons that don't come to mind right now.
Ever since I learned shechita and shechted animals - chickens, duck, goose, turkey, sheep, and cows - I have questioned the original assumption. From my experience, both in witnessing shechita done by others and by my own performance of shechita, it looks to me to be anything but painless.
Granted, I have no idea what the animal actually feels at what point. I am not a biologist or a scientist, I do not talk to animals - or at least I do not understand when they talk to me, and I have no scientific studies to back me up. But it does not look to be painless.
True, halacha declares the animal to be dead immediately upon the cutting of the trachea and/or esophagus, so halachically the animal is immediately dead. And perhaps the animal feels nothing of what it experiences after the simanim have been cut. And perhaps out of all the possible methods this is still the most humane method and perhaps it is the method that gives it the last amount of pain possible. it just, to me, never looks to be painless.
Mind you, I do not have a problem with pain in shechita. It is not tzaar baalei chaim as it is for a purpose and for a benefit. We have to minimize the pain and distress as much as possible - but some pain, however much is necessary at minimum, is acceptable in halacha and therefore to me. As long as the process is not excessive in the pain it causes and does not cause unnecessary pain, it is acceptable.
Last year there was an expose on Tnuva's slaughterhouse (Adom Adom). What looked like tremendous cruelty to the cattle was exposed to the public in the expose. After the expose, haredi activist Ruth Colian sued Tnuva for cruelty to animals, rendering the animals possibly even not kosher in some situations and at least not mehadrin after such cruelty.
With the suit soon coming to court, Tnuva has issued a response. They do not deny the allegations of cruelty, but their defense is to confirm the cruelty. Tnuva says that shechita does cause pain to animals. "in order to slaughter the animals, they have to be gathered into a trap box, totally conscious and sometimes groaning in fear. In this box they are grabbed and pressed with force against the body and head. After that they are flipped over 180 degrees and then slaughtered - the neck is sliced through and they are left to bleed to unconsciousness. Even though the behavior shown in the video is completely legal and standard, it would definitely cause shock and pain to most unsuspecting viewers."
Furthermore, Tnuva rejects the claim that they should have informed the public of the process and of the pain the animal goes through. Tnuva says that the consumer never knows the process of production of the products they consume. They do not know the process of how sports shoes are made, how cornflakes are made, or toilet paper. The same, they say, with meat production - this information is what the consumer specifically does not want to know. They want to be able to enjoy their meat while pushing away the thought of the pain caused to the animal in the process.
Tnuva basically confirmed what I learned from being involved in shechita.
That is not to say that what Tnuva was doing, what was exposed in the video, was perfectly ok. It must be analyzed and judged to see if they were using excessive force and unusual cruelty. Tnuva claims that they looked into the incidents recorded and say it was an exception to their normal practice, and they have taken steps to rectify it. The factory manager was fired, the contract workers who were abusing the animals were let go, procedures were changed and rules were tightened, there were changes to the actual physical implements and structures in the factory, video camera surveillance was installed, electric shockers have been banned form the premises, etc. Tnuva regrets what happened and is working to ensure it won't happen again.
(source: Kikar)
So, no. Shechita is not painless, but excessive cruelty and causing unnecessary pain is unacceptable.
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