Kapparos man charged

Crying Foul:

NYPOST:

An Orthodox Jewish man was charged with animal cruelty yesterday for causing the drowning deaths of 35 chickens meant for slaughter in a religious ritual and keeping hundreds more in squalid conditions.
Jacob Kalisch, 37, of Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, was named in a complaint filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for mistreating 307 chickens found Oct. 16. They were crammed into wooden crates inside a vacant lot on Coney Island Avenue, sources said.
"Someone said, 'You have to do something about these chickens. They're dying.' We reported it to the police and the ASPCA," said PETA's Martin Mersereau.
ASPCA investigators seized the chickens, which were packed in crates eight to 10 high and partially covered by a tarp. About 35 were found to have drowned in a rainstorm, sources said.
Many of the chickens were covered in feces and later showed evidence of parasites, sources said.
The chickens were supposed to be offered to Orthodox Jews who observe the kapparos ritual prior to Yom Kippur.