Daily Times

Sir: There is nothing like celebrating Eidul Adha with zest and zeal. However, during celebrations and the sacrificing of animals on this sacred day for the sake of Allah, we should remember that it is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Him, but it is our piety that reaches Him. We forget that cleanliness is half of the faith. I am saying this because whether it is Egypt or Jordan, Pakistan or Bangladesh, in many countries people slaughter animals openly on the roads and on the streets in front of everyone. Sometimes it is done by professionals but not often now. No one is stopping us from sacrificing animals but we have to understand that we can do this ritual in a cruelty-free, civilised and professional way without turning the whole city into an abattoir, with pools of urine and blood. We let amateur people and seasonal butchers handle animals. We leave the blood and other parts like the stomach on roadsides, footpaths, streets, gutters, open plots, parks, or in other places without bothering about it attracting street animals like dogs and cats, birds and swarms of mosquitoes, which create more mess that becomes a source of deadly diseases. There is need for an immediate and proper awareness campaign related to health issues caused by having animals in populated residential areas and the mess we create during and after Eid.

IFRAH IMAM

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