Slaughterhouses Busy for Eid

I suppose many cultures consider Haloween or St. Patrick's Day to be odd. This piece refers to the Eid festivals of the Muslim world. Nancy Oteifa of the Kuwaiti Times reports:

Nearly all Muslims are busy thinking of where and how to sacrifice their animal of choice. So, I decided to visit one slaughterhouse in Kuwait and see how they have prepared for this season.

When I went to Shuwaikh slaughterhouse, the men in charge were very helpful and kind enough to give me all the information I needed. Nasser Al-Wazan, the head of technical department said, "Our sheep are mainly from Australia, but there are also local and Arab ones."

Australian sheep are cheaper than the pure Arabian sheep and they are the most wanted and demanded by the customers, because they are cheaper".

Hygiene and cleanliness are paramount and the area is cleaned daily. They also make sure that all equipment is ready all the time. The third step is that workers or owners must be in place to make sure that the animal is healthy.

He added, "All slaughterhouses are open after the Eid prayer until 6pm -- and from 6pm till the next morning it is for charities. It's important to note that from a religious point of view, not any sheep can be used for scarifying. It depends on the size and age of the animal."

Vets such as Talat Al-Shafiee noted, "The vets have their own procedures in checking the sheep while they are alive. First they check the animal to make sure that they don't have any kind of disease of sickness, like tetanus, salmonella poisoning, or coughing. But when it comes to check the dead animal the vets first make an overall check on the animal to scan if there is any disease, to see if there are any changes in the colour or smell. Then they check the animal's head including the face and the tongue."

He added, "There are more than 220 diseases that are common between human beings and animals. These diseases not only have a great effect on human beings but also it has a huge damage on animals in terms of milk. Those diseases are transferred by touching or indirectly by eating the meat or by milk consumption."

Diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses or even parasites, and consumers are advised to make sure that the animal is free from any tumours on the skin before buying the animal.

Pretty matter-of-fact, eh?

Open Post Thanks to Right Wing Nation, The Bullwinkle Blog, bRight and Early, The Uncooperative Blogger and Don Surber.