Cleanliness is half of faith too.

We  humans are said to be omnivorous, and have been eating animals  from so long.  A few who don't eat it at all are dubbed as  vegetarians.

Those who eat meat, they  have to kill animals. Those who eat plants and vegetables they have have to do something  to eat them.

Meat eaters have been  killing/butchering/hunting/ slaughtering   animals to consume meat since no one knows. There are proper slaughter houses, meat  and butcher shops in every part of the world.


However on Eid Al-Adha the  scene is totally different. 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 too.

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 side apartment's compound (like in my apartment)  in front of whole crowd.

Sometimes it is done by professionals but not often.



That  gives heart attack to PETA  type people when they see such things. Blood every where makes them queasy. To them to kill animal in  this fashion is totally violent, brutal,  and not  appropriate especially for kids  when the witness that whole act at tender ages.


To be very honest they are not wrong at all. Their concerned is valid  if we think with cool head and realize what we do in the spirit of Eid before, during  and after it.

No one is stopping us from sacrificing animals but we have to understand that we can do this ritual in a cruelty-free, civilized and professional way without turning the whole city into an abattoir, with pools of urine and blood.

We let amateur people and seasonal butchers who pop up to make extra money in this sesaon  to handle the animals without thinking they are not trained or professionals to slaughter.

 
After slaughter 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 a need of  immediate and  proper awareness and education related to animal rights and health issues before, during and after Eid.


 Few points I could gather are:

•  Better build a proper place in your area where  people can keep their animals.  
• Keep animal and its place clean.
• Animal  should be properly checked medically by real Vet  from time to time.
• Treat animals with care and kindness. They are here with you not for showing off, or entertainment. Compelling them for races and over feeding is so  cruel and brutal.
• Let only professional butcher handle them.

• Slaughter should be done in slaughter house or at one place by professional butchers only.
• Doing it at one place will help  municipal corporation to clean and gather all the left over stuff from one place easily.
• Make sure there is a proper drainage system available when slaughtering  to let the blood drain in it.
• Don't let blood standing still on roads and streets.
• If it is there due to no proper  drainage system to drain them in, put soil over it. 
•  Don't dump  leftover mess like animal stomach and all that on roadside, footpaths, streets, gutters, open plots, parks or on any other hidden places where  municipal corporation couldn't gather them, or   delay the process of cleaning.
• Corporate with  your municipal corporation and related people during the process of cleaning.

Happy Eid 


This post got published in Daily Time's Letter to Editor section.