King David wrote in the book of Psalms: “The Lord is good to all, and His mercy extends to all His creations” (Psalms 145:9). Since we aspire to resemble the Creator and adopt His virtuous qualities, we too must open our hearts and widen the circle of our compassion, to all of God’s creatures, which includes not only people but animals as well. Therefore, it is a mitzva to ease the suffering of animals. For example, one must remove a heavy load from a donkey that is “crouching under its burden” (Exodus 23:5). Certainly, one may not actively cause unnecessary suffering to living creatures.

It is an even greater mitzva to have compassion on animals that assist people, such as a hen that lays eggs, a donkey that bears loads, or a dog that guards one’s home.

Further reading: For more on cruelty to animals, see A Concise Guide to the Sages, p. 435; A Concise Guide to Mahshava, p. 122.

If an animal is laboring in the service of a person, one may not make conditions unreasonably hard for it. In the case of an animal working in a field, or carrying on its back food that it could eat as well, it is prohibited to prevent it from eating that same food while it is being put to work.

If one seeks to buy an animal, he must be certain that he is indeed capable of providing that animal with its food.

It is written in the Torah: “I will provide grass in your field for your animals, and you will eat and you will be satisfied” (Deuteronomy 11:15). Since the verse mentions feeding animals before eating one’s own meal, the Sages ruled that one is prohibited from sitting down for a meal before feeding the animals that are in his care.

One who has compassion upon wild animals that are struggling to find food on their own, and feeds them himself, has fulfilled a mitzva, but there is no obligation to do so.

Milking animals is a labor that is prohibited on Shabbat by Torah law. The Sages even prohibited a Jew from telling a gentile to do this job for him. Nevertheless, when the animal suffers if it is not milked, the Torah requires that it be relieved by asking a non-Jew to milk it. If there is no gentile available, a Jew may milk the animal, but he must do so in such a manner that the milk is not collected in a utensil and instead goes to waste.

On Shabbat it is prohibited to pick up and carry an animal. According to some opinions, this prohibition does not include small house pets that are meant to be carried. When it is necessary to move an animal, one may encourage it to walk by pushing it. If this assistance is not enough and the animal must be carried, there are halakhic opinions that permit this as well, as long as one does not violate the labor of carrying in a public domain.

Cruelty to animals should be avoided unless it serves an essential human purpose. Actions that provide benefit to a person (financial gain, saving expenses, physical relief, or even amusement, such as training and exhibiting talking parrots) do not violate the prohibition of cruelty to animals.

One may not take pleasure in the suffering of animals. The fact that certain people enjoy watching such spectacles does not mean that it provides a “human need,” and it is strictly prohibited.

In cases where it is necessary to perform an action that entails animal suffering for the benefit of humans, such as conducting scientific experiments that are aimed at saving lives, it is permitted to do so.

One may kill a harmful and dangerous animal that poses a threat to people. It is also permitted to kill insects or other pests that spoil the cleanliness of one’s house and negatively affect the quality of people’s lives.

It is permitted to hunt animals in order to eat them or make a living from selling them. Nevertheless, hunting and killing that is performed for pleasure and amusement alone are inappropriate and unseemly for a Jew. Fishing is permitted even for pleasure.