Dubai: There’s no stopping Eid celebrations — not even the heat and the high prices of livestock — as people queued up to buy sheep, goats, and cows to sacrifice on the first day of Eid Al Adha in the Dubai Abattoir in Al Ghusais.
The 300-odd team of butchers and assistants on duty, along with 40 veterinarians, at Dubai Municipality’s abattoirs started their shift early to meet the Eid rush. But some customers arrived even earlier to make sure they were among the first in the queue.
Dilshad Khan, a gold trader based in Dubai, bought his goat at 3.30am to avoid the rush after Eid prayers.
“I kept my goat with my vendor and went for the morning prayers first. After that, I took my goat and queued up but by then it was already around 9am. Luckily, I found some space in a truck that was ninth in the queue. Livestock is much more expensive now by the way because it’s Eid,” Khan told Gulf News.
Three hours later, his 22-kilo goat, which he bought for Dh1,400 just hours earlier, was delivered to him neatly packed into two large bags. “I’m bringing this home to share with my family, relatives, and give the third portion to the poor. My mum usually cooks the third part into a biryani and then we drive to the fish market and give the biryani to the workers who can’t afford to buy their own. This way, everyone in my family is involved,” he said.
Eid Al Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, is celebrated by Muslims around the world. A portion of the animal sacrifice is shared with family and a portion is given to the poor.
Patiently waiting for her token near the inspection area was Sabihah Patel, a programmer from India, with the goat she had bought resting on the ground as she sat on her portable folding chair.
“This goat will be shared by around 15 to 20 families. We do this every year as a sacrifice, according to our religion, based on an important instruction from the Almighty Himself,” she said.
Beside her, a pick-up truck full of goats from India was in queue for inspection.
Bouchra Salah from Morocco was walking alongside another pick-up truck carrying some seven goats. Beside her was Omnia, her daughter, who was seeing the whole event for the first time.
She eagerly pointed to her goat with a blue collar and said she excitedly that she would be sharing the meat with others as well.
Other residents trickled in with one or two goats each, while there were still others carrying the animals on their shoulders. Still others could be seen using pushcarts to take away the sacrificed animals.
Mohammad Safr Iqbal, whose shop was just a few metres away, said he sold 250 goats in the first few hours of the first day of Eid. The big ones were the most in demand, with one customer buying 15 all at once.
Last year, around 29,000 animals were sacrificed at Dubai abattoirs during Eid Al Adha.
