diff --git a/Objects/bytesobject.c b/Objects/bytesobject.c
index db93f37..a0c121e 100644
--- a/Objects/bytesobject.c
+++ b/Objects/bytesobject.c
@@ -896,7 +896,9 @@
     register unsigned char *p;
     register long x;
 
+#ifdef Py_DEBUG
     assert(_Py_HashSecret_Initialized);
+#endif
     if (a->ob_shash != -1)
         return a->ob_shash;
     len = Py_SIZE(a);