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Eid Al Adha 2024: Sacrificial animals in UAE to be inspected for health, safety

The country's ports are the first line of defence against epidemic, infectious, and zoonotic diseases

Published: Sun 9 Jun 2024, 7:53 PM

Updated: Sun 9 Jun 2024, 10:12 PM

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Photo: Supplied

Photo: Supplied

With Eid Al Adha around the corner, markets in the UAE are seeing a demand for sacrificial animals. To ensure public health and safety, it is essential for the animals to be disease-free.

Animals and sacrificial offerings shall be inspected to ensure their health, in a plan launched by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE).

Specialised personnel, armed with the necessary supplies and diagnostic resources, will be deployed. Live animals entering through the country's ports will also be subject to necessary regulations that all parties must adhere to. The ministry stressed that the country's ports are the first line of defence against epidemic, infectious, and zoonotic diseases.

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In addition to ensuring livestock safety, the ministry has also established a system to manage the increased influx of live animals in the UAE. Some of the mechanisms in place are data analysis regarding the demand for import services, extension of operational hours within veterinary quarantine centres.

The ministry has also increased the number of veterinarians and laboratory technicians, and ensured an adequate supply of laboratory testing materials. Delivery services have been expedited while ensuring quality.

An inspection was conducted of several sites, including the Al Hamriya Port Centre for Agricultural and Veterinary Quarantine, the Dubai cattle market, the Dubai Abattoir, and the Sharjah Airport Centre for Agricultural and Veterinary Quarantine.

The plan for Eid Al Adha was announced during this inspection campaign by Marwan Abdullah Al Zaabi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Regions Sector at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. The campaign also involved visiting Abu Dhabi, northern and eastern regions.

Al Zaabi stated that the ministry is implementing a plan which aims to enhance control and inspection procedures, ensuring the safety of sacrificial animals and those prepared for consumption during the ongoing season.

Al Zaabi reiterated: "We inspect the slaughterhouses and various facilities involved in raising of livestock to ensure these facilities comply with the highest international standards for handling sacrificial animals. Additionally, we work at all UAE borders to implement the necessary procedures for permitting the entry of sacrificial and live animals through the country's various ports."

"We execute this through a highly sophisticated coordination mechanism that functions all year round, exercising extra caution during the Eid Al Adha season," he said.

He added: "Recently, there has been an increase in livestock imports to meet the demand for sacrificial animals. Various consignments of live animals have arrived through the country's ports, and additional shipments are expected in the coming days to meet the growing need during the Eid Al Adha season."

The ministry has reported that from the beginning of this year until June, 592,577 heads of sheep, goats, cows, and camels have entered the UAE through various ports of entry. This figure represents an increase of 66.7 % from the 325,524 heads of livestock received during the same period last year.

This initiative is part of MOCCAE's efforts to facilitate food trade and diversify its import sources, the pillars of the nation’s food security, and to meet the local market's demand for livestock.

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