Chapter 27
Laws Relating to Animals on Shabbath and Yom Tov
FEEDING AND OTHERWISE ATTENDING TO ANIMALS
29.a. A fish which has died may be removed from an aquarium, so that the other fish should not die, if a considerable financial loss is involved.
29.b. Taking out the dead fish is not a breach of the prohibition against selection (dealt with in detail in Chapters 3 and 4), since the dead fish cannot be said to be mixed together with the live fish.
30.a. One is allowed to feed birds in a cage, because they are dependent on one for their food. (See paragraph 21 above.)
30.b. The cage must not be moved (except in the circumstances referred to immediately below), as it is muktzeh.
30.c. If the cage in so positioned that the birds are suffering. for example, due to strong sunlight, then
1) one should, where possible, eliminate the cause of the suffering by some permitted means, as by drawing the curtain across the window through which the sun is shining, but,
2) where this possibility does not exist, one may move the cage to a position where the birds will be more comfortable, for instance, from the sun into the shade.
