Eid Al Adha 2020: Licensed apps for animal sacrifices in UAE

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Abu Dhabi: Like many other facets of life, coronavirus has transformed the way we celebrate our festivals. And for the upcoming Eid Al Adha, this change has been rather drastic.

The need to minimise social contact has ‘taken Eid sacrifices online’. Animal sacrifices during Eid Al Adha typically see crowds queueing up at the slaughterhouses to select the animal for sacrifice and collect the processed meat. This year, many are opting to place orders online through licensed services that have been made available for the past few years.

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Online orders are placed through licensed apps in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with the service providers undertaking the sacrifice in municipality abattoirs and then either delivering the meat to customers at their homes or preparing it for pick-up from the facility.

“We have had these services available since last year and we are extremely busy this Eid. I don’t have exact figures, but the demand is huge,” said a representative at a livestock trading firm operating from Al Wathba Slaughterhouse, which is managed by Abu Dhabi City Municipality.

Last week, the municipality in Abu Dhabi had announced that it was ready for the Eid rush. The availability of veterinarians at the slaughterhouses has been beefed up for Eid to ensure that all livestock that is processed is first checked and certified as disease-free. From today onwards, additional cleaning and maintenance services will be made available onsite and equipment will be planned and organised to ensure a smooth flow of work while also ensuring public health.

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, these facilities also ensure that processed meat is delivered to customers in their cars, and daily sterilisation process is undertaken to ensure overall safety.

Priority for the elderly and people of determination

Pre-booking

In a statement last week, the municipality announced that people of determination and the elderly will be prioritised at all times. It also specified the services through which people can pre-book slaughtering services in Abu Dhabi’s municipal abattoirs, namely Zabehaty (My Sacrifice), and Zabeyah Al Jazeera (Al Jazeera Sacrifice).

“Since the beginning of the year, Abu Dhabi slaughterhouses have issued 372 veterinary certificates and seen an increase in orders as a result of the convenient digital services that are offered,” the statement said.

Mohammad Q, 64, a long-term resident, said he had opted to offer the sacrifices online this year.

“We usually go to the abattoirs ourselves, but this year, it seems safer and more convenient to fulfil this religious duty using the convenience of digital services. The meat will even be delivered to our home,” he said.

Services in Dubai

Dubai Municipality also announced earlier that preparations are underway for Eid Al Adha and that its facilities were offering home-delivery services. In Dubai, smart applications offering sacrificial meat include Al Mawashi, Turki, Shabab Al Freej and Dhabayih Aldaar.

“The animals are slaughtered under municipality supervision in the abattoirs,” the Municipality had said.

Donating sacrificial meat

Still other residents are opting to donate their sacrificial meat to the needy in other countries.

“I have been offering the sacrifice through Emirates Red Crescent’s online facilities since last year and I will do the same this time around as well. We are very blessed here, but other people around the world would benefit from the meat and the food. So this is my contribution,” said Khalid Al Hammadi, 42, an Emirati project engineer.