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Abattoir Braces for Eid Al Adha Rush

DUBAI — Plastic bags filled with meat were piled high on the back of a truck.

Abdullah Al Balluchi and his wife had visited the cattle market in Al Ghusais that morning to buy 15 sheep and had stopped at the nearby abattoir to have them slaughtered.

“We are celebrating the birth of children in the family,” he said. “We will have two goats for every child. The rest, we will give to the poor this Eid.”

This week, the Al Ghusais abattoir will become a hive of activity as hundreds of people would be there to get sheep, goats and cows slaughtered for Eid Al Adha.

There are expected to be between 3,500 and 4,500 sacrifices at the Al Ghusais abattoir alone during the three-day festival. Up to 90 per cent of the animals slaughtered will be at the behest of local families, said Ali Taher Al Hamaadi, head of the Abattoirs Operations Unit in Dubai Municipality.

“While we have restaurants and butchers who come here, most of our customers are private individuals,” he said.

The Al Ghusais abattoir is the largest of the three in the emirate of Dubai— the others being in Shindagha and Hatta.

The normal price for slaughtering and cutting up an animal is Dh15, but half price discounts will be given to six charities that cover Ajman, Sharjah and Dubai during Eid Al Adha.

Over the holiday, the abattoir will close to normal customers from 5pm to work until 1am on slaughtering over 8,400 animals, which charities will then use for feeding the poor.

The last week was spent by Al Hamaadi to plan out how to move thousands of people from the neighbouring cattle market through the Al Ghusais abattoir and out again safely. The plans have been approved by Dubai Police.

On a tour of the facility, Al Hamaadi gestured to a section of the concourse. “This week it will be filled with people,” he said “You won’t even be able to move.”

Ordinarily, 88 people work at the Al Ghusais abattoir, but during Eid Al Adha, an extra 40 temporary labourers will be hired to help with non-skilled tasks, such as mopping the floors.

Abattoirs have a grim reputation, but Al Hamaadi is keen on dispelling the myth. “Look at this, it is very clean,” he said, gesturing to the highly sterilised slaughter house. Workers wore plastic gloves and beard coverers, and soap dispensers were dotted around the facility.

“If someone hires someone to carry out the slaughter in their own house, it is very unhygienic,” said Al Hamaadi. “The animal could have some infection, or the person could have some disease. If his blood mixes with the animal’s blood then you could be infected, too.

“We carry out tests on the animals prior to and after slaughtering. In addition, it is very inexpensive to have the animal slaughtered here.”

Within walking distance to the abattoir is Al Ghusais cattle market.

According to Al Hamaadi, the prices of sheep there will rise by 50 per cent during Eid Al Adha.

“Whereas before it was Dh600 for a sheep, soon it will be Dh1,200,” he said. “Some people buy them early while the prices are still cheap. It’s fine if you have the space, but most people don’t.”

martin@khaleejtimes.com