COLONEL CARTER'S KOSHER FRIED CHICKEN. "Now with animal welfare exemptions" 29 November 2010

Minister for Agriculture David Carter wearing a Homburg and Jewish sidecurls waves his stick and says 'Now with animal welfare exemptions' as he stands in front of the newly opened 'Colonel Carter's Kosher Fried Chicken' business. Context; in May 2010 David Carter made the practice of shechita on poultry no longer illegal while the Government also agreed to negotiate the ban on sheep. However New Zealand Jews will still have to import beef from Australia, where shechita is allowed. As a result Carter was sued by the Auckland Hebrew Congregation. Documents obtained by the Herald on Sunday appeared to show Carter broke the rules governing his portfolio by considering trade implications when making the original decision. An allegation of conflict of interest has been made because of that - he holds shares in a company which exports meat and met with senior managers who wanted a ban on shechita to protect their interests. Carter says that "Claims that business interests determined my decision on the Commercial Slaughter Code of Welfare are totally baseless. Lawyers told David Carter that he was allowed to consider only animal welfare issues. He had been advised trade with Muslim countries might suffer if it emerged kosher meat was allowed to be produced here while restrictions were placed on halal slaughter. New Zealand requires halal meat be stunned before slaughter while kosher meat - which is killed only for a small domestic market - does not have the same restriction.

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