Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork Torah (Pentateuch) contains passages in Leviticus that lists the animals people are permitted to consume. It first notes what qualifies an animal that is absolutely permitted: Animals that have cloven hooves and chew their cud are ruminants such as cows, sheep, and deer. This text does not specify every possible animal by name, only their behaviors. The text goes on to describe specific animals that are known and meet one, but not both, of those qualifications, thereby prohibiting their consumption. It does not elaborate on the exact reason for prohibition other than physical characteristics. Pigs are described in this section
Coprophagia serves the same purpose within these animals as rumination (cud-chewing) does in cattle and sheep. Cattle in the United States are often fed chicken litter. There are concerns that the practice of feeding chicken litter to cattle could lead to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease) because of the crushed bone meal in chicken feed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates this practice by attempting to prevent the introduction of any part of a cow's brain or spinal cord into livestock feed. Other countries, like Canada, have banned chicken litter for use as a livestock feed. The young of elephants,