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Just as we are commanded to rest on Shabbat, so too are we commanded to allow our animals to rest. As the Torah states, “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your maidservant and the stranger may be refreshed” (Exodus 23:12).
As we will see later (28:5), anything that has no practical use on Shabbat is muktzeh and may not be moved. Animals are included in this category. However, pets played with and picked up all week long are not muktzeh, and their owners may touch them and pick them up. Similarly, seeing-eye dogs are not muktzeh.
It is forbidden to trap animals on Shabbat. However, this prohibition does not apply to domesticated animals that do not run away from their owners, such as cows, donkeys, and dogs. Therefore, they may be herded into their pens, kennels, or cages.
Slaughtering (Shoĥet) is defined as taking the life of a living being. On the Torah level, the prohibition applies when an animal is killed to make use of its meat, skin, or blood. In contrast, one who harms destructively, such as stepping on ants to kill them, only transgresses rabbinically. If a colony of ants is in someone’s way and one cannot pass without stepping on them, one may continue walking as long as one is not interested in killing them. Similarly, if there are insects in a toilet or sink, one may still flush the toilet or turn on the faucet without taking them into account.
Danger to human life overrides Shabbat. Therefore, animals that can endanger human life, such as poisonous snakes and scorpions, may be killed even on Shabbat. However, it is prohibited to kill animals whose bites hurt but are not life-threatening, such as mosquitoes and fleas. Insecticide may be sprayed to repel them, as long as it is not sprayed directly on them, and a window is left open through which they can escape. Just as it is prohibited biblically to kill any living being in order to make use of it, it is also prohibited biblically to cause a living being to bleed.
