JEDDAH, 27 December 2006 — It is that time of year again when sheep are in big demand. The Jeddah municipality announced yesterday that all seven of the municipality’s slaughterhouses would be fully operational in time for Eid Al-Adha.
Each location is equipped with 22 veterinarians and 465 licensed halal slaughtering technicians, said Khaled Aqil, Jeddah’s deputy mayor for services.
He said the municipality has increased the number of inspectors this year to ensure hygiene standards were maintained.
The municipality also said it is cooperating with authorities this year to ensure that the workers at the slaughterhouses, as well as other independent establishments, are legal residents. Officials are encouraging that people bring their sacrificial animals, usually sheep, to a sanctioned slaughterhouse to ensure that the animal is healthy and fit for consumption. (The meat is distributed to the poor.) Animals not deemed healthy for human consumption can be disposed of at these slaughterhouses.
The municipality’s main slaughterhouses are located on the east side of the Madinah Ring Road, in the industrial zone in southern Jeddah, the city’s southern Al-Khomrah district, Al-Sabeel district near Al-Ittihad Market, Al-Nuzhah district near the northern industrial area, the central cattle market east of Jeddah, and in Heraa Street near the History Roundabout.
Units from the municipality, police, passport and traffic police would make inspection tours around the clock to ensure safety and smoothness of work during peak slaughtering times.
