Principles: 7) Don’t Maim an Animal for Food, be Merciful to it.

Originally a prohibition against eating a “part” of a living animal for food; for example cutting off a leg to eat while letting the animal go. The key here is being merciful rather than destructive. 

Mercy refers to God’s forgiveness of the “offenses” of creation and to compassion generally. As part of creation, God has been merciful to us.  So should we be merciful to the rest of God’s creation.  

Don’t seek to inflict painful distressing cruelty to others. Seek mercy to all, even to the animals you eat. God has shown mercy to us. We show mercy to others, even unto animals.