Unlicensed butchers were seen brandishing their knives Monday along the streets waiting for customers who were trying to avoid the crowds at the slaughterhouses across the Kingdom. And they were doing a roaring business charging SR200 for each animal as opposed to only SR35 at the slaughterhouse. A space in the open, a knife, and a pole to hang a small animal from were all the unlicensed butchers needed to do business. Some of them knew little about butchering animals. Salem Saeed and Ahmad Ibrahim, illegal expatriates who are basically construction workers, said they have changed their career to butchers just for Eid charging no less than SR180 per head. Sulaiman Jubran, who identified himself as a real butcher, said he has been in the profession for over 35 years. “It only takes me 15 minutes to finish off a sheep,” he said. Customers said they resorted to unlicensed butchers to escape the long lines at the slaughterhouses. Muhammad Abdulkareem and Waleed Nasser said they knew some of those butchers were residing illegally in the country, but their help was much needed on Monday. “We take those illegal butchers home to slaughter our animals,” said Waleed. The Jizan Health Department warned against taking the services of unlicensed butchers. “They are not qualified to examine the animal and check its health before slaughtering,” said Mohsin Al-Tubaiqi, director of the Jizan Health Department. He urged people to take their animals to the slaughterhouses. “It is worth the wait,” he said. Some residents in Taif found it more pleasant to slaughter their animals on their own in the picnic areas in the mountains. Uncle Abdullah, from Taif, said he could not bear the long lines at the slaughterhouses and preferred to slaughter his animal on his own, following the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). A majority of people along the southwest coastline of the Kingdom preferred to slaughter their animals on their own after the Eid prayers in areas like Al-Laith and Qunfudha. “We have done it for years and we do not depend on butchers,” said Atiyah Hassan from Al-Wasqa village, 250 km southwest of Jeddah. The villagers would then cook some of the meat from their sacrificial animal with rice for the lunchtime meal, he said. Part of the meat is given away to the poor in the village, he said.
