The Minister of Agriculture says he has allowed the Jewish community to continue the kosher killing of chicken, despite his belief that it is a very cruel method of slaughter.
The practice, known as shechita, involves slaughtering an animal, without stunning it first, by cutting its throat and then allowing the blood to drain.
David Carter says he tried to toughen up the rules on kosher killing because he was concerned about animal welfare.
But after legal action by the Jewish community, he says, they came to a compromise allowing the kosher killing of poultry to continue.
Mr Carter says he understands that it is very difficult for the Jewish community to access shechita-killed chicken meat.
He says after discussions with the Jewish community there has been agreement that approximately 5000 chickens each year will be shechita-killed.
Mr Carter says the Government would be willing to discuss increasing that number if more people were practicing the Jewish faith in New Zealand or if there were an increase in Jewish visitors to this country.
The SPCA says it is disappointed by the decision. Its chief executive Robyn Kippenberger says she has witnessed the practice and it's an incredibly cruel and inhumane way to slaughter an animal.
Mr Carter says the question of the shechita killing of sheep is still being negotiated.
David Zwartz, a spokesperson for the Auckland Hebrew Congregation and the Wellington Jewish Community Centre, says shechita is a humane way of killing animals.
He says the community cannot source chickens from other countries because its import is forbidden due to a disease.
