The Ministry of Agriculture, led by Minister Uri Ariel, put out the following video as part of its campaign to encourage people to do kapparot between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur with money that would be given to charity rather than with chickens.

I found this video very funny.


While I found this video very funny and enjoyable, and I do personally agree with the sentiment conveyed, I did also find it strange, considering something else recently done by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Every year in the past few years we get a anti-chicken-kapparot campaign in the months leading up to Yom Kippur. They issue directives that would force the limitation of the use of chickens. I remember directives banning slaughtering of chickens outside of official slaughterhouses, how the chickens would need to be cooped up and fed in ways that would not work well with the kapparot system, among other directives.

This year we did not have such a campaign. There was no (at least not yet) big media blitz against kapparot with chickens. Just a couple of weeks ago the Ministry of Agriculture announced it would not create any difficulties for those who perform kapparot with chickens, though they would recommend against eating chickens slaughtered outside of an authorized slaughterhouse.
source: Ladaat

So, it seems strange they would decide to ease the restrictions against using chickens, but then pay for a campaign against using chickens.

According to Ladaat "the Haredi sector" is upset at Minister Ariel for this campaign. They say this campaign is meant to weaken the tradition of using a chicken for kapparot.