Q&A for How to Properly Slaughter a Cow Under the Kosher Method Shechitah

No, performing an action that could in any way affect the health of an animal is prohibited, and if performed, renders said animal trefah.

No. You need a stun gun that will use enough force to penetrate the cow's brain. Anything you kill will always wiggle or twitch violently because the nervous system is trying to stay alive for about 2-5 minutes. That's just the way it is.

Yes, you can slit the throat at the same time the animal is stunned by a stun gun. There is a device for this in most slaughterhouse equipment catalogues.

The basic steps in this article apply across other kosher land animals and birds. Step 8 does not apply to commonly-eaten fowl, only fowl with a circular hip joint.

Touching an animal does not make it unkosher. In fact, to restrain it properly, you will likely need to touch it.

After the slaughtering, the internal organs of cattle and fowl are examined for potentially fatal diseases or injuries, such as in the lungs or stomach. Basically, if if it was going to die from a cause other than the kosher slaughtering, that would render it unkosher.

There are specific requirements about the blade (i.e. it cannot have any bumps and must be perfectly sharp) you use and the direction of the cut is reversed.

There is a blessing said before the slaughter (In general, you always say a blessing before the mitzvah is done). ברוך אתה ה' אלוקינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצוותיו וציוונו על השחיטה Baruch atah a-donay elohainu melech ha-olam asher kidishanu bimitzvotav vitzivanu el hashechita--Blessed are you G-d Lord of the Universe who commands us concerning Shechitah.

The general problem with stunning is that is causes injury to the animal which renders it unkosher. There is also a question of whether stunning methods actually suppress pain or simply paralyze the animal so they can't display it. These concerns may apply to the method you have in mind. I would consult a halachic expert if I were you.

It is prohibited for anyone, Jew or non-Jew, to neuter an animal. If a Jew instructs a non-Jew to do it, that animal is then forbidden for that Jew to eat it or indeed benefit from it in anyway. However, if a non-Jew does it on their own, it may be slaughtered and it is kosher according to the Shulchan Aruch and Chelkas Mechokek.

If you are killing it for a purpose, such as eating it, then no, not cruel, Father gave us these animals to sustain ourselves with, for we are omnivores. If you are killing it just to end its life, then yes, you would be removing a resource for other animals.