NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett didn’t show up to deliver the opening remarks at a Women’s Health Summit in Brooklyn, but that didn’t stop 20 activists from disrupting her stand-in after Bassett’s pre-recorded video greeting was played for attendees.

The activists disrupted the summit over Commissioner Bassett’s ongoing refusal to enforce the seven public health codes violated during an annual ritual animal sacrifice called Kaporos during which 60,000 chickens are swung in the air by their fragile wings and killed in illegal pop-up slaughterhouses on public streets. The blood, body parts and feces of thousands of dead and dying chickens contaminate the streets in several Brooklyn neighborhoods for up to a week each year.

Public health and animal rights activists join forces to protest NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett over her refusal to shut down an illegal animal sacrifice called Kaporos

“We are so desperate for Commissioner Bassett to shut down this illegal and barbaric massacre that we are willing to protest any event sponsored by NYC Department of Health, even if Bassett doesn’t show up for fear of protests,” said Nicole Fernandez, a Brooklyn-based health care provider who participated in the disruption at the Women’s Health Summit.

Two dozen women protest NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett at a Women’s Health Summit, demanding that she enforce public health codes around ritual animal sacrifice

In 2015, The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos and 19 NYC residents sued the NYC Department of Health and the NYPD for failing to enforce the 15 public health, sanitation and anti-cruelty laws and regulations that are violated during Kaporos. The case centers on whether or not courts can mandate that the police enforce the laws that are violated during Kaporos.  The case is pending at the Court of Appeals, which is the highest court in the state of New York.

Dr. Mary Bassett refuses to enforce the seven health codes that are violated when ultra-Orthodox Jews slaughter 60,000 chickens in pop-up slaughterhouses on NYC streets.

While many New Yorkers working on this effort are motivated by the public health risks, others are motivated by the animal cruelty. “I joined the fight because, in 2017, I watched helplessly as thousands of chickens in cramped crates died a slow and agonizing death from starvation and thirst,” said Jaylene Lopez, a Brooklyn native. “I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do everything in my power to stop this atrocity from happening again.”

The NY Daily News reports on a protest targeting NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett in the lobby of the Department of Health headquarters in Queens

As 25 activists stormed into the New York Academy of Medicine to disrupt a presentation she was making, NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett collected her coat and exited the building, leaving event organizers and attendees visibly stunned.  This was the third time in recent months that activists have shut down one of Mary Bassett’s presentations.

The activists are protesting Commissioner Bassett over her refusal to enforce the seven or more public health codes that are broken during a ritual animal sacrifice called Kaporos. During Kaporos, ultra-Orthodox Jews recite a prayer to transfer their sins to live chickens before Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. While reciting the prayer, practitioners swing the chickens around their heads three times by their fragile wings and then bring them to a slaughterer who slices their throats in illegal pop-up slaughterhouses. Each year, practitioners sacrifice an estimated 60,000 chickens, the majority of whom are bled out into the streets before being thrown in the garbage.

Activists shut down NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett’s presentation at the NY Academy of Medicine

Some of the activists who participate in the disruptions are motivated by the public health risks because the  streets and sidewalks near their homes are contaminated with the blood, body parts and feces of thousands of dead and dying chickens.

Mary Bassett, the Commissioner of the NYC Dept. of Health, refuses to enforce the the health codes that are violated during a ritual animal sacrifice called Kaporos. (photo: Unparalleled Suffering Photography)

Other activists who are participating in this campaign are motivated by animal cruelty. Before being swung in the air and slaughtered, the chickens are held in crates for up to several days with no food, water or protection from weather extremes. In 2017, activists documented thousands of chickens who died in their crates from starvation, thirst and exposure before the ritual sacrifice took place.

The blood, body parts and feces of thousands of chickens contaminate the streets for several days, which, according to a toxicology report, jeopardizes the health of people who live in the neighborhoods where the ritual sacrifice takes place.

Activists speculate that Commissioner Bassett condones the practice, in spite of the health code violations and a toxicology report outlining the public health risks, because ultra-Orthodox Jews represent one of the most powerful voting blocs in NYC.

Kaporos practitioners swing live chickens in the air by their fragile wings and then slaughter them on public streets

In response to media inquiries, Dr. Bassett’s office puts out the following statement:  “We have not found Kaporos to be a significant public health threat — our surveillance has shown no increase in illness — and this ritual is an important practice for some Orthodox Jews.”

Activists protest Mary Bassett in front of her home over her refusal to enforce the seven health codes violated during the annual Kaporos massacre of 60,000 chickens in NYC.

In 2015, The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos and 19 NYC residents sued the NYC Department of Health and the NYPD for failing to enforce the 15 public health, sanitation and anti-cruelty laws and regulations that are violated during Kaporos. The case centers on whether or not courts can mandate that the police enforce the laws that are violated during Kaporos. According to the plaintiffs’ complaint, the police are not only ignoring the violations, but they are also “aiding and abetting” in the crimes by providing the ritual practitioners with flood lights, barricades, security and the orange cones in which the chickens are bled out. 

Activists have vowed to escalate the campaign targeting Commissioner Bassett and her staff if she doesn’t enforce her own agency’s regulations.

During the opening session of a global health disparities conference at the New York Hilton, 20 activists stormed the stage and shut down the presentation of NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett over her ongoing refusal to enforce the multiple health codes violated during a mass animal sacrifice that takes place for one week each year on public streets.

As the activists unfurled a banner behind her, Dr. Bassett apologized to the audience and forfeited her presentation. The disruption, which continued for about seven minutes after Dr. Bassett exited the ballroom, took place just 15 hours after many of the same activists shut down another presentation she was making at the New York Academy of Medicine.

Mary Bassett exits the stage at a global public health conference as activists unfurl “Do Your Job” banner behind her.

While some of the protesters are participating in the disruptions because they live in neighborhoods that are contaminated with the blood, body parts and feces of dead and dying animals, the majority are animal rights activists.

“The tens of thousands of animals who are mercilessly tortured each year during the Kaporos ritual sacrifice owe a debt of gratitude to their allies at the Department of Health and in law enforcement who helped us orchestrate this complicated disruption at the Hilton,” said organizer Donny Moss. “Once caring people see the footage of six-week old chickens crying in crates where they slowly die of starvation and thirst, they want to help.”

Kaporos practitioners in Brooklyn swing and slaughter an estimated 60,000 chickens (Photo: Unparalleled Suffering Photography)

During Kaporos, ultra-Orthodox Jews swing live chickens around their heads in a symbolic transfer of their sins to the animals prior to the Jewish day of atonement, Yom Kippur. After the ritual, the chickens are killed in pop-up slaughterhouses. While most of the dead and dying chickens are stuffed into garbage bags and hauled away by the NYC Dept. of Sanitation, many end up in the streets, on the sidewalks and in the sewers.

In a statement provided to the media in early March, the DOH defended the practice. “We have not found Kaporos to be a significant public health threat — our surveillance has shown no increase in illness — and this ritual is an important practice for some Orthodox Jews.”  The DOH did not address the health code violations or the toxicology report which explicitly warns the city of the risks that Kaporos poses to the public.

Mary Bassett is turning a blind eye to Kaporos, an annual ritual massacre during which 60,000 chickens are slaughtered in Brooklyn alone.

In a 25 page affidavit submitted to the court in connection with an ongoing lawsuit about Kaporos, toxicologist Dr. Michael McCabe provided the following expert opinion:  “The high levels of total coliform bacteria and E. coli present confirm that the Kaporos activities produce unsanitary conditions in . . . public spaces . . ..  It is my opinion with a reasonable degree of toxicology, immunology and environmental health sciences certainty, that based on the evidence set forth . . . that the Kaporos activities taking place in the subject locations as described constitute a dangerous condition and thereby pose a significant public health hazard and could be catastrophic.” 

The NY Daily News reports on a protest targeting Commissioner Mary Bassett

During the week of Kaporos in 2017, a group of activists discovered garbage bags filled with hundreds of chickens who died of starvation and thirst before being used in the ritual sacrifice.  Many vowed in that moment to hold Commissioner Bassett accountable for failing to enforce the many laws that would prohibit such extreme cruelty.

Ironically, the activists disrupted Dr. Bassett’s presentation at the health disparities conference just as she was making remarks about the need to fight for justice.

“Dr. Bassett publicly critiques disparities in health systems, yet she sends her lawyers to court to defend health code violations that jeopardize some of New York’s poorer residents,” said activist Nathan Semmel. “I doubt she would defend these violations if they occurred on her own block.”

As part of a growing campaign to compel NYC’s Health Commissioner Mary Bassett to ban a religious animal sacrifice that violates seven public health codes, over twenty activists staged a 45-minute disruption in the lobby of the Department of Health’s (DOH) headquarters as several thousand city employees entered the building during the morning rush.

During a similar disruption that took place two weeks earlier, DOH employees informed the activists that the protest could be heard throughout the building and was the subject of conversation among city employees. This feedback, coupled with a desire to ensure that all DOH employees are informed of their employer’s negligence, triggered activists to return for the second disruption.

Photo: Unparalleled Suffering Photography

“The system is broken,” said Jessica Hollander, an activist who participated in the protest. “What does it is say about our city government when New Yorkers are left with no choice but to stage a ‘die-in’ on the floor of the Department of Health to compel the agency to enforce its own regulations?”

A reporter and photographer from the NY Daily News attended and reported on the protest in an article entitled, “Protesters Slam Health Department, Implore City to Ban Jewish Chicken Slaughter Ritual.”

Protest coverage in the NY Daily News

In a statement provided to the Daily News for the article, the DOH dug in its heels, stating, “We have not found Kaporos to be a significant public health threat — our surveillance has shown no increase in illness — and this ritual is an important practice for some Orthodox Jews.”  The DOH did not address the health code violations or the toxicology report which explicitly warns the city of the risks that Kaporos poses to the public.

Following is an excerpt from a 25 page affidavit submitted by Dr. Michael McCabe to the court in connection with an ongoing lawsuit about Kaporos:  “The high levels of total coliform bacteria and E. coli present confirm that the Kaporos activities produce unsanitary conditions in . . . public spaces . . ..  It is my opinion with a reasonable degree of toxicology, immunology and environmental health sciences certainty, that based on the evidence set forth . . . that the Kaporos activities taking place in the subject locations as described constitute a dangerous condition and thereby pose a significant public health hazard and could be catastrophic.” 

“During the week when the animals are killed, the streets in my neighborhood become a giant petri dish of pathogens and toxins that expose not only the practitioners to disease but also members of the general public,” said Rina Deych, a 62 year old nurse who lives in Brooklyn. “I can’t walk my grandson around my own neighborhood because there’s a makeshift slaughterhouse on every other block and chicken body parts in the streets.”

During Kaporos, ultra-Orthodox Jews swing live chickens around their heads in a symbolic transfer of their sins to the animals prior to the Jewish day of atonement, Yom Kippur. After the ritual, the chickens are killed in pop-up slaughterhouses. While most of the dead and dying chickens are stuffed into garbage bags and hauled away by the NYC Dept. of Sanitation, many end up in the streets and sidewalks, which contaminates public spaces with blood, body parts and feces.

The 45-minute disruption at the Department of Health, which was staged during the morning rush hour, was the fifth action taken by activists to compel the city agency to enforce its own regulations.

Activists protest in the lobby of the NYC Department of Health during the morning rush to pressure the Commissioner to ban the use of live chickens during a religious ritual called Kaporos (photo: NY Daily News)

In 2015, The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos and 19 NYC residents sued the NYC Department of Health and the NYPD for failing to enforce the 15 public health, sanitation and anti-cruelty laws and regulations that are violated during Kaporos. The case centers on whether or not courts can mandate that the police enforce the laws that are violated during Kaporos. According to the plaintiffs’ complaint, the police are not only ignoring the violations, but they are also “aiding and abetting” in the crimes by providing the ritual practitioners with flood lights, barricades, security and the orange cones in which the chickens are bled out. 

As part of an ongoing campaign to compel New York City to shut down a religious animal sacrifice called Kaporos that takes the lives of 60,000 animals each year, activists staged an evening protest at the home the Commissioner of the NYC Dept. of Health (DOH), Dr. Mary Bassett, who has refused to enforce the seven public health codes that are violated during the ritual.

This was the third protest targeting Dr. Bassett, who has publicly defended the ritual, saying “there is no evidence that the use of chickens for Kaporos poses a significant risk to human health.”  Her assertion contradicts the findings of an 24-page toxicology report which states that Kaporos with chickens exposes NYC residents to bacteria and viral disease. In her limited communications with activists, Dr. Bassett has not addressed the fact that health codes are broken.

NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett turns a blind eye to seven health code violations. (photo: Unparalleled Suffering Photography)

“Mary Bassett knows that sacrificing animals on a mass scale on public streets endangers the health of New Yorkers,” said Nathan Semmel, an organizer in the campaign to shut down Kaporos. “We can only speculate that she is prioritizing politics over public health because the ultra-Orthodox Jews who commit these atrocities represent one of NYC’s most powerful voting blocs.”

During Kaporos, ultra-Orthodox Jews swing live chickens around their heads in a symbolic transfer of their sins to the animals prior to the Jewish day of atonement, Yom Kippur. After the ritual, the chickens are killed in pop-up slaughterhouses and stuffed into garbage bags which are hauled away by the NYC Dept. of Sanitation.

During the Kaporos ritual, practitioners say a prayer to transfer their sins to a chicken before the Jewish day of atonement, Yom Kippur

Among the many reasons why activists are working to shut down the ritual is the fact that tens of thousands of chickens are intensively confined in crates for up to several days with no food, water or protection from weather extremes. In 2017, activists found garbage bags stuffed with thousands of chickens who died from exposure before they were even used in the ritual.

After their throats are sliced, the chickens are bled out in cones. Activists have documented hundreds of bleeding chickens jumping out of the cones. (photo: Unparalleled Suffering Photography)

The evening protest at Dr. Bassett’s home came on the heels of three other protests –– one during the day at her home and around her neighborhood; one during a presentation she made at Columbia University; and one in the lobby of the headquarters of the DOH. Activists have vowed to continue disrupting business as usual until the DOH enforces the public health codes.