ByLeon Symons, Leon Symons
Manchester Beth Din and Kashrus Authority is joining Shechitah UK to fight a European Union proposal that shechitah items be labelled "meat from slaughter without stunning".
The authority - which will formally announce its support at a public meeting in October - sees the EU plan as a serious threat to shechitah in Britain.
Rabbi Yehuda Brodie, registrar of Manchester Beth Din and chief executive of the Kashrus Authority, said the meeting had been called for two reasons. "First to rally support for Shechitah UK and give a mandate from the country's second-biggest community that will strengthen its arm.
"Second, we want to raise funds. Shechitah UK receives its basic funding from London. It's now felt that Manchester has a role to play, which is public awareness and a financial effort, both of which are linked to what is happening in Europe.
"We ought to be much stronger with a combined force and Manchester needs to play its part."
Shechitah UK campaign director Shimon Cohen confirmed that "until now, we have been funded entirely by the London butchers. We welcome the indication from the various Manchester shechitah authorities that they are now ready to support our work.
"We are working tirelessly on the current EU situation and need all the support we can get. We are preparing a public campaign for which we will need the active participation of the community, details of which will unfold in the coming weeks."
The campaign - whose supporters also include the Board of Deputies and the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations - was additionally responsible for setting up Shechitah EU.
This was a working group established early in 2009 to co-ordinate communication with the EU on all aspects of shechitah.