Eid Al-Adha has provided unauthorized butchers an opportunity to operate on the sly with slaughterhouses teeming with hundreds of customers and making it difficult for authorities to detect such illegal activities.

The price of slaughtering a single sacrificial lamb by illegal butchers costs SR150, including skinning, cleaning and chopping. Sometimes, illegal butchers don’t abide by the correct slaughter procedure, nor are they aware if a lamb is suitable for sacrifice in terms of the health conditions or whether it conforms to rules and regulations of Islam.

Omar Al-Obthani said he was handicapped by the shortage of butchers, especially since the regular slaughterhouse was too crowded, forcing him to use an illegal butcher who charged a high price because he was the only easy and fast alternative.

Al-Obthani said families should choose the right place to slaughter the sacrificial lamb, and distribute the meat to the needy. Butchers are located in old neighborhoods, close to livestock markets and they usually look for clients just after Eid prayer.

In an unprecedented move, the livestock market administration in southern Riyadh covered certain parts of the market with sunshades without charging any extra costs on merchants.

The level of customer service can be gauged by the new look worn by the market and the services offered including supply of free water and providing safety and security inside the market. Two of the market gates were allocated for customers’ entry, and another one for bringing in the livestock. If the experiment is successful, it will be replicated in all livestock markets.

Abdulaziz bin Mohammad, a livestock merchant, was critical of the distance between customers’ parking areas and the market, which he says, affects sales volumes. Besides, physically-challenged persons can’t walk these long distances, which meant that the new arrangement would deprive them of selecting a sacrificial lamb of their choice. This tempts people to buy from traders outside the market, he said.