ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The customary slaughtering of animals during Eid al-Adha will only be allowed at slaughterhouses and is prohibited in houses and on streets, Erbil’s mayor told Rudaw. “Animals should only be slaughtered at the slaughterhouses, during all four days of Eid the slaughterhouses will be open from 7am to 6pm,” Nabaz Abdulhamid told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on Sunday. “Veterinary teams will be present at the slaughterhouses and will perform two tests on the animal, before slaughter and for the meat after slaughter.” The tests will be performed for a nominal amount of money that is 3,000 dinars for smaller animals and 10,000 dinars for bigger animals, Abdulhamid said. During Eid al-Adha Muslims sacrifice livestock to commemorate Prophet Abraham’s test of faith, when God asked him to sacrifice his only son, however when he was about to do so, God sent him a lamb instead. It is customary for the meat from the animal to be distributed among family, friends, and the poor. People in the Kurdistan Region traditionally slaughter animals in their own houses, often hiring a butcher. However, the government seems adamant to stop the practice this year. “We will in no way allow for animals to be slaughtered in the streets, for it will hurt the environment, and will hurt people with the smell and the flies and insects that gather around the animal’s remains,” Abdulhamid said, noting that they will have teams patrolling the city to watch out for the forbidden practice and tighten security. Abdulhamid also said that hotels and restaurants will stay open during Eid because many tourists from other parts of Iraq will be visiting the city. Eid al-Adha is scheduled to begin on Tuesday the 20th of July this year.
