Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2013-10-09

Two German butchers and their team members who have reverted to Islam have been given the momentous task of overseeing a new project by the Makkah Municipality, in Saudi Arabia.

The Makkah Municipality has introduced German technology at a cost of SR56 million (R149 Million) to speed up slaughtering this Eid-ul-Adha (day of sacrifice).

In a statement, the municipality said that 40 animals including camels and cows, would be slaughtered, skinned and packed in an hour, Arab News reported.

The municipality has deployed teams to prevent unauthorized slaughtering in the holy city while the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which oversees the adahi project, has urged hajee’s to buy its coupons.

The municipality has designated five abattoirs where slaughtering will take place to uphold health and Islamic standards.

The Al-Maisam area close to Mina in Saudi Arabia will handle millions of livestock this Hajj. About 7 million animals will be slaughtered in the holy city on Eid-ul-Adha.

Municipal officials are also monitoring livestock coming into the holy city. The mayor of Makkah, Mayor Osama Al-Bar has warned that the government will punish those involved in unauthorized slaughtering.

Mayor Al-Bar said veterinary experts are regularly checking the health of animals and the people involved in slaughtering. A total of 300 security officers would be deployed in the abattoir area in Al-Maisam.

In a statement IDB’s chairman Ahmed Mohammed Ali said that he visited the Al-Maisam area to inspect the arrangements made for the adahi project.

Hundreds of veterinary doctors from various parts of the Islamic world are also working on the IDB project in Makkah.