ALKHOBAR: Despite government orders to the contrary, illegal slaughter sites along the highway to Bahrain were in full swing by 7 a.m. yesterday morning. Livestock were dangling from at least two dozen trees near the entrance to the King Fahd Causeway. Both Saudis and expatriates were using the makeshift facilities and women beggars were strolling from tree to tree hoping to get their share of the bounty. The slight matter of a veterinary inspection after slaughter to ensure that the animal was disease free was of course disregarded.
A visit to the official government slaughterhouse located five minutes from the site provided an explanation for the bloody mess. Police were directing the crowds who had come to perform the Al-Adha sacrifice. Sheep prices ranged from SR700 for the smallest animals to over SR2,000 for the largest. Buying the animal was just the first step in the process. Next, the sheep had to be dragged or carried from the livestock lot to the slaughterhouse line. Those joining the line at 7:30 were advised that it would be at least two hours until there would be a butcher available due to the overwhelming demand.
Many decided against waiting. Arab News watched a Saudi load two sheep into the trunk of a Chevrolet Caprice and two Egyptians joined him in the car, one carrying a plastic bag containing their kit. A Sudanese Muslim loaded a goat into the back seat of his Toyota Corolla and had an Indian join him in the front. They all drove to the same location — a line of trees conveniently grown along the highway near the livestock market.
It was a charnel house in every respect. Sheep and goats hung by their hooves from the tree branches. Blood dripped onto the ground below and ran out onto the roadway. The air was filled with the sound of knives being sharpened, bleating livestock and shouted orders. The puddles of blood and feces created a putrid miasma sucked in through our vehicle's ventilation system.
The black Caprice stopped before an empty tree and the two Egyptians ran around to the back. The first sheep was pulled out of the car trunk and the lid was slammed shut again. The animal was laid down on the service road just off the highway, and held by one man. The other man took out his knife, grabbed the sheep's head and slit its throat. It wasn't an ideal slaughter and the animal struggled for a full minute until a further slice of the knife put it out of its misery. Then the men returned to the car for the second sheep.
After both animals were slaughtered they were lifted from the pavement with wire hangers used as slings and hooks. Rope was used to secure the carcasses to the tree. The sheep were hung head down for about ten minutes to ensure complete exsanguination before the butchery proceeded. First the animals were skinned and then the intestinal contents were removed inside their membrane. The entire membrane sack was carried over to the other side of the service road where it was punctured, releasing the feces into the dirt. The illegal butcher held the bloody mess with one hand while slicing off the undesirable bits. Then he returned and put the organs into a blue garbage bag.
“We will make at least 300 riyals today” said Abdul Kader, the Egyptian who was wielding the knife. “The more crowded the government's slaughterhouse, the better for us.”
Every tree in the vicinity held an animal in some stage of butchery. Bones, hair, fat and other waste from the slaughter were thrown off to the side of the trees. There was no furtiveness in the activity. Every ten minutes or so police drove past the site but none stopped. The same isn't expected of the vermin, which will most certainly come out after sundown to feed on the filth.
