Saudi Gazette

MAKKAH – The large number of unlicensed slaughterhouses scattered on both sides of Al-Laith Road in Makkah continues to pose a serious threat to the environment as well as public safety.

The residents of the area have been calling on officials to shut down the slaughterhouses and to see that their owners fined because they do not follow the proper hygiene and health measures set down by the pertinent authorities.

In Makkah, there are two licensed slaughterhouses in Al-Kaakiya and Al-Mo’aisim districts. Both slaughterhouses have veterinary doctors to examine the animals before they are slaughtered.

Saudi Gazette visited some of the slaughterhouses and small farms on Laith Road. None of the slaughterhouses have veterinary doctors, which means that the animals are slaughtered without being examined for serious diseases and infections.

Some of the slaughterhouses are located near sewage pipes. The knives and other utensils used for slaughtering and cutting are not clean and seem to be contaminated while the workers do not follow any hygiene practices. They neither carry any official permits to practice the work.

Moreover, the workers were seen using contaminated water to clean the animals during the slaughtering process. All these unhygienic practices take place inside the slaughterhouses in the complete absence of official monitoring.

An official from the Makkah Municipality said the large number of slaughterhouses could be attributed to the presence of undocumented workers who run them.

One of the butchers said most people working in these slaughterhouses are Arabs and Asians who are not butchers by trade. Most of them live near the slaughterhouses, he said.

Another butcher said some workers burn the heads of sheep to remove hair because they do not know how to skin them professionally.

Saudi Gazette asked some Saudis why they come to these slaughterhouses when they know they are not licensed. They said the main reason was the slaughterhouses are close to them and do not take too much of their time, unlike the licensed ones where the animals have to be examined by a vet first.

Some Saudis called upon the authorities to take swift action against the slaughterhouses and shut them down.

Osama Zaytouni, media director at Makkah Municipality, urged the general public to use the two licensed slaughterhouses in Makkah and not to jeopardize their health by going to the unlicensed ones.

He however said the municipality runs regular inspection visits to all suspicious areas and close down any unlicensed slaughterhouses.