Slaughtering sacrificial animals: Finding butcher on reasonable rates an uphill task

ISLAMABAD: Finding a professional butcher to perform Islamic ritual of slaughtering the animals on reasonable rates has become an uphill task for most of the people ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. “A great number of professional butchers are taking more and more orders from the people to gain maximum profit for slaughtering the animals on the occasion of Eid,” according to a survey conducted by this scribe.

Further details revealed that the butchers in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are demanding rates of Rs.10, 000 to Rs. 15,000 for slaughtering big animals such as bull, cow, and camel while Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 6,000 for small animals such as goats or sheep.

Imran Abbasi, a resident of F-10 Markaz said, it has become immense difficult to buy animal to perform sacrifice ritual due to the prevailing inflation in the country and we have to roam around the outskirts of the city to find animal on affordable rate.

After buying animal, hiring a professional butcher on minimal charges to perform the ritual is another Herculean task, he said while talking to APP.

Irum Saba, a government employee said, although different stores are offering packages of sacrificing animal on their own taking share of money from people but the amount of share is too much and the meat they are handing over is too low in quantity.

“We also cannot rely on online shops in terms of quality of meat and procedures adopted for sacrificing animal so left with no option to buy animal and hire a professional butcher”, she said.

She said that the butchers charge heavily and after sacrificing animal start demanding meat of their own choice and hides of animal which is unjustified.

Maqsood Ahmad, a butcher in G-9 Markaz said they charge high amounts due to their professional work as there are many butchers who don’t know how to slaughter the animal and cut the meat properly.

“The butchers lack expertise about the procedure to bring down animals to the grounds and are also unable to cut the meat properly. Such non professional butchers also end up damaging hides of the sacrificial animals,” he said.