Originally from South Africa, Rabbi Mendy Wineberg is an administrator and teacher at Yeshivas Hashluchim, a Manhattan-based program dedicated to educating candidates for rabbinical ordination. He specializes in Jewish law and has been writing for Chabad.org for several years. Rabbi Wineberg lives with his family in Brooklyn, N.Y.
© Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.org's copyright policy.
In regards to Q2, the leniency for a group of three from a synagogue to permit such an animal is only granted in a place/situation where there is no expert, as the Rambam states in Halacha 2. However, in Halacha 1, The Rambam clearly writes that even if the animal has a large and obvious blemish, it stills needs to be inspected by an expert.