I found James Macintyre’s article “Unkindest cut of all?” (15 March) rather one-sided. Animal Aid recently filmed inside eight randomly ­chosen (non-Jewish) British slaughterhouses and found evidence of cruelty in seven of them, where animals were kicked, slapped, stamped on, picked up by fleeces and ears, and often improperly stunned before going to the knife while still conscious. These practices are completely unacceptable to Jews, but are ­commonplace in all abattoirs and the first ­priority of animal rights’ activists should be to have them stamped out. The training of shochetim (Jewish ritual slaughterers) is meant to minimise avoidable pain on the animal. In shechitah – the Jewish method of slaughter – the animal’s throat is cut