[Avodah] Shechting animals upside down

[Marty Bluke]

For a while now there has been a chumra that animals should only be
slaughtered when they are upside down so that the weight of the animal
does not push down on the knife.

This has led to methods like hoist and shackle which have come under
fire from animal rights groups.

In the latest issue of Mesorah
(http://www.oukosher.org/pdf/mesorah_23-96.pdf), R' Yisroel Belsky
writes "this practice (my addition: shechting when the animal is
upside down) is not mentioned in Shas, Rishonim, or Poskim". This is
all based on a diyuk in a Shach which he says is completely unfounded.
He, as well as R' Genack in the name of RYBS, point out that the
Rambam (Hilchos Shechita 2:7) makes absolutely no distinction between
if the animal is standing or not.

I am absolutely stunned by this. This practice of only shechting when
the animal is on it's back has become very widespread and has led to
many problems. To find out that it has no halachic basis is very
disturbing.

R' Belsky concludes with the following:

"I want to emphasize that it is very painful and misleading to make up
new opinions that are not mentioned in Shash and Rishonim based on
some diyuk"