2,310. Animals That Are "Torn" But Not Mortally Injured

Maachalos Assuros 4:7

Since an animal that was torn by a predator is prohibited, does that mean that if a wolf or a lion comes and drags a goat by the foot, tail or ear and a person saves it, then it becomes prohibited from the attack? The Torah says, “Don’t eat meat that was torn in the field. Throw it to the dogs.” By torn (“treifa”) we mean that it was brought to a condition such that its meat is only fit for dogs. Therefore, “treifa” in the Torah means an animal that was attacked by a predator and mortally wounded but has not yet died. Even if one hurries and slaughters it before it dies, it is prohibited as a treifa because it’s not possible for it to survive its injuries.

Maachalos Assuros 4:8

We have seen that the Torah prohibits animals that die, a neveila, and an animal that’s near death because of its injuries even though it hasn’t yet died, i.e., a treifa. We don’t differentiate between an animal that has died naturally, one that fell and died, one that was strangled to death, or one that was attacked and killed by a predator. Similarly, we don’t differentiate between animals that are near death, regardless of whether they were mauled by a predator, fell off the roof and broke most of their ribs, fell and broke its limbs, was shot by an arrow in its heart or lung, became sick with a disease that punctured its heart or lung, broke most of its ribs, etc. Since it’s close to death, it’s a treifa regardless of the cause, whether by human or Divine agency. So why does the Torah say “torn?” Because the Torah discusses the most common occurrences. This must be the case because otherwise, only an animal torn in a field would be prohibited, not one that was torn in a courtyard. We see that the Torah speaks to common occurrences.