People line up at one of the slaughter houses in Abu Hamour on the first day of Eid Al Adha yesterday. Abdul Basit
DOHA: Slaughterhouses at the livestock market in Abu Hamour witnessed huge rush on the first day of Eid Al Adha as hundreds of people waited till afternoon to have their sheep butchered for the celebration.
Officials at the abattoirs slaughterhouses said they expected over 1,800 sheep and 150 cows and camels to be slaughtered yesterday.
Customers complained of huge crowd and long waiting, with some saying they had stayed there from morning till afternoon to have their sheep slaughtered. Because of that, some decided to take the sheep and butcher them in their homes.
But the Municipal Ministry had warned it was illegal to butcher animals in other places other than the designated abattoirs with butchers licensed by the Municipal Ministry.
It stressed it is a must to have animals butchered in abattoirs where it is done by licensed butchers in the presence of veterinarians who check the animal before and after the slaughter for hygiene.
The meat safety unit has provided five veterinarians to monitor the slaughterhouses during Eid days to ensure meat is safe for consumption.
Widam said with more than 10,000 sheep it expect to be slaughtered during Eid, five slaughterhouses had been prepared in addition to increasing the number of staff, supervisors, veterinarians and cleaners.
A contract had also been signed with cleaning companies to ensure cleanliness in the abattoirs during Eid.
Many customers, however, are asking for temporary mobile slaughterhouses to avoid overcrowding in the livestock market, which as of now has only five slaughterhouses.
They have also called for Widam Food Company to coordinate with the municipalities to rehabilitate some of the slaughterhouses and provide them with enough butchers, veterinarians and staff.
Abdullah Al Sulaiti, head of the meat safety unit at Doha Municipality, said the five slaughterhouses will be open from 5am until 8pm during Eid days.
The Peninsula
