Jackson Township may soon be the first town in the state to be regulating the ritual sacrifice of livestock on a local level.

The town council introduced the first reading of an ordinance Tuesday night at a public meeting. The ordinance is aimed at controlling and regulating the federally allowed practice of slaughtering livestock for religious purposes.

The proposal comes after complaints were filed in neighboring Lakewood during the Orthodox Jewish tradition of Kaporos during Yom Kippur. The tradition involves sacrificing thousands of chickens. Jackson’s ordinance would require the practice to stay within religious institutions and private property.

"There is nothing on the books as far as I can tell in Lakewood or any other surrounding town specific at the municipal level to allow the local municipal law enforcement or code enforcement to take action,” Councilman Alex Sauickie said at the meeting.

A second reading of the animal cruelty ordinance and religious exemption clause is scheduled to take place at the next council meeting in November.