The Torah commands in the Book of Shemot (13:2), “Kadesh Li Kol Bechor, Peter Kol Rehem Bi’Bneh Yisrael” – “Consecrate for Me every firstborn, the first issue of every womb among Beneh Yisrael.” This command requires us to declare as sacred the male firstborn of every kosher Behema (domesticated animal), as well as every male firstborn donkey. At the birth, the owner must proclaim, “Hareh Zeh Kadosh” – “This is hereby sacred,” and then give the newborn animal to a Kohen. The Kohen must then offer the animal as a sacrifice, and after the blood is sprinkled and the fats are offered on the altar, the Kohen must eat the meat in Jerusalem. If the animal has a blemish that disqualifies it as a sacrifice, then the Kohen may eat the animal wherever he wishes, and may also share it with whomever he wishes. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that the purpose of this Misva is to remind us that everything belongs to G-d, and that everything we own has been given to us by Him in His infinite grace and kindness. When a person works very hard and invests a great deal of effort tending to his animal, hoping that it will reproduce so he could profit from it, and then, when it finally gives birth, he gives that animal to G-d, he is shown that he does not really own anything. The firstborn animal, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, is especially precious to the farmer, and so giving it to G-d leaves a very strong impression upon him, teaching him that even when he exerts effort and works hard, he is not entitled to anything, and it is Hashem who gives every person all that he has. Additionally, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, this Misva reminds us of the miracle that occurred on the night of the Exodus, when G-d delivered a plague upon Egypt, killing the firstborn people and animals, but did not kill any firstborns among Beneh Yisrael. The Sefer Ha’hinuch advances the view that this Misva applies at all times, even after the destruction of the Bet Ha’mikdash, when the Kohen is unable to bring the firstborn animal as a sacrifice. The Torah obligation, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, applies only in Eretz Yisrael, but the Rabbis enacted that it should be observed also in the Diaspora. Both men and women are included in this obligation, and thus a woman who owns an animal must give its male firstborn to a Kohen. Unlike the obligation to redeem a human firstborn, which is not binding upon Kohanim, the obligation to consecrate firstborn animals applies even to Kohanim. Thus, a Kohen who owns an animal that delivers a male firstborn must offer the firstborn as a sacrifice, and then partake of its meat in Jerusalem. The Rambam rules in Hilchot Bikkurim (1:10) that the firstborn animal must be given to a Kohen, and not to a Kohenet (daughter of a Kohen). Therefore, if a Kohenet has an animal that gives birth to a male firstborn, she must give it to a male Kohen, and cannot fulfill the Misva by offering it as a sacrifice herself.