If you look back at your summer camp memories and think pitching a tent and building a campfire was roughing it, how about being sent off to camp to slaughter a duck? There’s a camp in northeastern Pennsylvania where campers take it a few steps further and learn the ways of kosher slaughtering. It’s called Yagilu Wilderness, and it’s an Orthodox Jewish summer camp for boys that makes your summer camp hikes look like a walk in Central Park.
Recently featured in the New York Times, campers at Yagilu learned from a shochet, a Jewish slaughterer.
The teens did everything from slitting the throat to de-feathering, watching out for unclean cuts or defects. While some were apprehensive, others enjoyed it, and wanted to do it again. In all, they slaughtered 120 quails, partridges, and ducks, which were donated to fundraisers to benefit the Masbia Soup Kitchen in NYC.
Photo by Santiago Mejia/The New York Times
“It’s not that bad once you get used to it,” said a 16-year-old from Pennsylvania. As a tasty reward, they saved the livers for later to grill over the campfire. Now that sounds like a good time.
