The Kosher Butcher
Torah laws forbid us Jews from consuming non kosher meat: meat that can come only from certain animals and can be made only in a certain way - "shechitah keshera". The holy Torah specifies in details the kind of kosher foods allowed for the Jews. Although the holy Torah focuses our attention on the meat of cattle and sheep, our sages of blessed memory learned in their wisdom the laws applied for all animals and birds.
Who is allowed to do kosher shechitah?
Generally speaking, it is allowed for every Jew to perform the ritual kosher butchery. Even though, it is the Jewish costume that only a man who received the rabbi's permeation is a kosher butcher.
Naturally, a butchery is a kosher butchery only if the butcher (shochet) is a Jew. It is said that a goy can not performs kosher butchery, and even if he learned and practices all the ritual laws of kosher butchery from a Jewish shochet, meat butchered by him won't be considered kosher meat.
In a kosher butchery, the killing cut must be done on the animal's neck. For a kosher chicken it is enough that the shochet shows one of two signs: the gullet (veshet) or the windpipe (kanne) for the boutchery to be kosher food. In mammals, such as kosher veal or kosher lamb, it is essential for the butcher to show both signs.
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