KUWAIT CITY, July 26: With fear enveloped in hope, sheep sellers in the market are trying to promote, sell and prepare their sheep for this year’s sacrifice amid the conditions imposed on them by the coronavirus crisis and the application of health requirements through social distancing, and possibly, market closure. In a recent visit to the Sheep Market, witnessed preparations for the sacrifice season with the fast approaching blessed Eid Al-Adha. Vendors have already begun pricing their sheep starting from 75 dinars for Romanian breed and rising to 90 and 100 dinars for the Jordanian breed, while Saudi and Kuwaiti sheep have the highest value in terms of price, and sold between 110 and 130 dinars per head, depending on size.

Market
The vendors affirmed “there’s fear of closing the market and that many sheep owners are using the online sale mechanism for the sacrifice season at high prices ranging between 140 and 150 dinars for the Kuwaiti and Saudi breed, 120 dinars for the Jordanian and 85 dinars for the Romanian breed, reports Al-Qabas daily.

They stated that online sale activities by individuals that are non-companies is contrary to the rules and regulations, because the sacrifices are likely to be made at home and the sheep will be slaughtered by people who may not have experience or health licenses. To that, Al-Qabas continued to monitor the online sale activities of the sacrificial animals market, as the market is divided into two parts.

The first market, which is licensed, belongs to shops and commercial companies specialized in selling meat, while the second market is random. The companies in question, when contacted, revealed that reservation is made for the sacrifice, then it’s delivered live to the applicant’s home to save him the trouble of going to the market. They affirmed that prices range between 100 and 140 dinars for the Kuwaiti and Jordanian sacrifices, between 65 and 75 for the Australian breed, and 65 dinars for goats.

Visitors
The Public Authority for Food and Nutrition took a series of measures to control the process of using the slaughterhouse during Eid Al- Adha, in compliance with the health requirements in order to achieve the required social distancing goal. On a recent tour of the slaughterhouse, the authority placed at the entrances, a self-sterilization device for visitors and prevented any of the visitors from entering the premises.

They quoted the slaughterhouse operators as saying an electronic mechanism will be announced concerning pre-booking of the dates to visit the sheep market and the slaughterhouses using barcode. They expected the market will be opened during the four days of Eid from 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening.

They reiterated other measures are in place to ensure the sacrifice takes place smoothly inside the slaughter yard starting with the numbering and preparation for the slaughter on carts, suspension, skinning and cutting, up to handing over to their owner. They pointed to a continuous review of health requirements inside the slaughterhouse and its employees- in terms of wearing masks and measuring their temperature.