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As NYC’s First Deputy Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot was delivering the opening remarks at a public health conference in Manhattan, over twenty animal rights and public health advocates disrupted the event until she forfeited her presentation and left the building. The protest was staged as part of an ongoing campaign to compel the NYC’s Department of Health (DOH) to enforce the multiple health codes violated during an annual religious animal sacrifice.

“Dr. Barbot and her boss, Commissioner Mary Bassett, routinely describe themselves as social justice advocates, yet they ignore an atrocity that they have the power to stop,” said Rachel Levy, an activist who has participated in many of the protests. “As far as the community is concerned, Dr. Barbot and all of the other deputy health commissioners are complicit in this illegal massacre of six week old animals.”

Some of the health codes violated during the ritual animal sacrifice Kaporos

Before Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, certain sects of Orthodox Jews recite a prayer to transfer their sins to a live chicken. While reciting the prayer, practitioners of the ritual, which is called Kaporos, swing a chicken around their heads three times and then bring it to a shochet, or religious slaughterer, who slices her throat and bleeds her out into the street in an upside down traffic cone.

“These chickens know nothing but pain, neglect and deprivation during their six weeks of life on a factory farm, but their last few days are probably the worst, as they are intensively confined in crates on the streets of Brooklyn with no food or water,” said Roberto Bonelli from the animal rights group Animals Battalion.

During Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, certain sects of ultra-Orthodox Jews swing chickens around their heads while saying a prayer to transfer their sins to the animal.

In response to the protests and media inquiries, the DOH issued the following public statement about Kaporos: “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 statement does not address the health code violations or a toxicology report commissioned by the affected communities which explicitly warns the city of the risks that Kaporos poses to the public.

After Kaporos practitioners swing the chickens in the air by their wings, they slice their throats in pop-up slaughterhouses erected on public streets

“The city ignores the violations and aids and abets in the mass killing because the communities that partake in this ritual represent a powerful voting bloc,” said Donny Moss, a grass roots animal rights organizer in NYC. “Oxiris Barbot and Mary Bassett are putting politics ahead of public health, leaving activists no choice but to protest on behalf of the human and animal victims of their dereliction of duty.”

After months of being stonewalled by NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett, New Yorkers advocating for a ban on a ritual animal sacrifice that violates seven public health codes have taken their plea to her front doorstep. While many of Commissioner Bassett’s neighbors have expressed their support for the protests, others are lashing out:

“We’re surprised by the rage expressed of some of Commissioner Bassett’s neighbors because we are protesting for just 1.5 hours every few weeks without any sound amplification,” said Linda Mann, an activist who participated in the protest.

NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett watches from her window as New Yorkers protest her ongoing refusal to enforce the health codes violated during a mass animal sacrifice called Kaporos

During the animal sacrifice, which is called Kaporos, ultra-Orthodox Jews swing live chickens around their heads while saying a prayer to transfer their sins to the chicken. After the ritual, the chickens’ throats are sliced in one of the approximately 30 pop-up slaughterhouses erected for the ritual on public streets.

“The chickens, who are just six weeks old, are held in crates for several days with no food or water,” said Rina Deych, a Brooklyn resident who lives in a neighborhood where chickens are killed and bled out into the streets. “In 2017, thousands of these babies slowly died from starvation, thirst and heat exhaustion before they were even used in the ritual, and their bodies were stuffed into garbage bags and dumped onto the sidewalk.”

In 2015, The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos and 19 NYC residents sued the 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 plaintiffs are asking the judges to mandate that the city agencies enforce the laws. The case is pending at the Court of Appeals, which is the highest court in the state of New York.

Public health and animal rights activists protest at the home of NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett who defends a mass animal sacrifice that violates multiple public health codes.

In response to the activists pleas, Commissioner Bassett issued a two sentence statement defending the practice. The statement makes no reference to health code violations or the toxicology report submitted to the court that states that Kaporos jeopardizes public health by exposing New Yorkers to e-coli, salmonella and many other toxins and pathogens.

In a letter to advocates, NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett dismisses the toxicology report that states that killing 60,000 animals on public sidewalks poses a public health risk to New Yorkers.

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.”