JEDDAH, 27 January 2004 — It is now possible to buy your sacrificial sheep from a supermarket. After two Haj seasons testing the logistics, a major supermarket chain has initiated the program, much to the approval of customers.

“We made the first try-outs two years ago,” said Rami Rajab, assistant general marketing manager for Panda Supermarket in Jeddah. Coordinating the sequence of events and fitting the ritual slaughter into the appropriate time over the three days of Eid Al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, proved difficult. “The first day is the most popular and the available slots fill up quickly,” he said, “but now the system works well.”

The buyer of the sheep orders the animal from the meat counter where he is given a receipt and a tracking number and returns later to collect it. An increasingly popular alternative is to select a live sheep in the early evening from the back of a truck outside Panda.

“The challenge with this operation is to take away the purely commercial aspect,” said Gerhard Hootsen, business manager for Fresh Food. “We don’t make any profit but see it as part of our contribution to the life of the community at an important time.”

The price for the animal is fixed and does not change even though prices traditionally rise as Haj approaches. The process is very labor intensive as the animal selected can be traced throughout the process.

Hootsen explained, “When the sheep is selected, a neck tag that doesn’t damage the animal in any way is put on it. This enables us to track the animal all the way through.”

Religious authorities monitor transport and delivery to ensure that the animals arrive in good condition and that the buyer actually gets the sheep he paid for. If the buyer is unsatisfied with any part of the procedure, the supermarket does not argue about refunds. “The sacrifice and donation of an animal is a sensitive and significant religious act; we respect its seriousness to the buyer who is also a donor,” said Hootsen. “Because the animal has been tagged, it can be identified as the gift of a particular buyer whose name is called out at the moment of sacrifice.”

The animal is butchered with a portion returning to the supermarket — with the tag — for the customer to collect. The remainder becomes a donation to charity.

Panda are also operating the same service at their supermarkets in the Eastern Province but not in Riyadh.

Another company in the Eastern Province is offering much the same service. With Ibn Khaldoon Livestock Company, a customer can buy a sheep for SR550-SR600 which includes slaughtering and skinning the animal. The customer chooses the time of slaughter and can even be present if he chooses.

The Dammam Municipality has urged the public to have their animals slaughtered at authorized slaughterhouses in Dammam and Alkhobar. “This will keep the city clean and the animals will be slaughtered under hygienic conditions,” said an official at the municipality.

Many people, however, say that they are unhappy about how the government-designated slaughterhouses operate. Allegations are that the slaughterhouses are badly managed and on Eid day there is complete chaos and butchers are unable to cope with the crowds. People also say that the behavior of the police at the slaughterhouses is very rude and consequently, there is no incentive to get animals slaughtered there.