NEW YORK (AP) — An effort to stop the Jewish atonement tradition known as Kaporos, in which chickens are ritually slaughtered on the eve of Yom Kippur, has been defeated in a New York court.

An animal rights group, Alliance to end Chickens as Kaporos, claimed the practice violates New York health and animal cruelty laws and sued the New York Police Department in 2015 hoping to force them to enforce those laws.

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the department could use discretion in enforcing sanitary and animal cruelty laws in relation to religious ritual.

On Wednesday, the New York Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's ruling.

An attorney for the animal rights group told WABC-TV they were disappointed and will continue to explore other legal remedies.

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Information from: WABC-TV, http://www.7online.com

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