![An Afghan boy pushes a wheelbarrow loaded with pieces of meat at a market in Mazar-e-Sharif on December 18. A new modern slaughterhouse in the city will ensure that meat is hygienic and free of diseases. [AFP]](/cnmi_st/images/2023/02/16/40807-334b62c-highres-739_416.webp)
MAZAR-E-SHARIF -- Residents of Balkh province have welcomed the inauguration of a long-awaited modern slaughterhouse funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Construction of the slaughterhouse in Mazar-e-Sharif, which cost about $6 million (540 million AFN) and was financed by the ADB, was completed back in 2018. However, the facility was not inaugurated until now, delayed by technical problems and lack of co-ordination, according to officials.
"We were finally able to inaugurate the slaughterhouse in a ceremony held on February 4," said Nasrullah Yousufzai, director of the slaughterhouse. "Previously, butchers used to slaughter livestock on the side of the road in Mazar-e-Sharif."
The slaughterhouse, built on 25 acres of land in Mazar-e-Sharif city, can slaughter about 3,500 livestock per day, including 600 large animals, he said.
![A modern slaughterhouse funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is pictured February 4 in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province. [Courtesy of Shoaib Hamdard]](/cnmi_st/images/2023/02/16/40788-a__2__copy-739_416.webp)
A modern slaughterhouse funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is pictured February 4 in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province. [Courtesy of Shoaib Hamdard]
"There are some 320 butchers in Mazar-e-Sharif city, who slaughter livestock each day in two shifts. The new facility has provided them not only with sustainable job opportunities but also an appropriate place for slaughtering livestock," he said.
"The slaughterhouse has brought convenience to both the local population and Mazar-e-Sharif municipality," Yousufzai said. "On the one hand, it prevents the city from becoming dirty, and on the other, it mitigates the spread of various diseases."
Now that the slaughterhouse is operational, butchers can slaughter livestock there and sell clean meat to their customers, he added.
Quality control
Khair Mohammad Jahangiri, a butcher in Mazar-e-Sharif city, said he and others of his trade are happy they can now supply hygienic meat to their customers.
"I know dozens of [butchers] who used to sell meat on carts and in the open air," he said. "They never thought about hygienic measures to keep the public healthy."
"Hundreds of butchers are now busy in the slaughterhouse, and they make some money for slaughtering and preparing meat," said Jahangiri, who has been operating a butcher's shop for five years.
The establishment of the new slaughterhouse will prevent the sale of unhygienic and substandard meat, said Abdul Dayan Rasuli, 40, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif.
"Unfortunately, butchers' activities were not properly supervised in the past... some butchers sold donkey and horse meat."
Flies and dust would contaminate meat hanging in roadside stores, Rasuli said. "Once [customers] buy contaminated meat, it can transmit various diseases."
"We have learned that here in the slaughterhouse, veterinarians are assigned to examine the livestock before an animal is slaughtered," he said. "This is indeed a very good thing."
"The slaughterhouse will operate under the supervision of Mazar-e-Sharif municipality and the Balkh Department of Agriculture," said Naqibullah Tariq, mayor of Mazar-e-Sharif. "From now on, Balkh residents will get hygienic meat from the slaughterhouse."
"The slaughterhouse will play a key role in identifying sick livestock and preventing its sale in the market," he said. "No one will be allowed to sell meat unless the livestock has been slaughtered in the slaughterhouse and its meat has been checked."
He urged the public to inform the authorities of any irregularities or violations.
"Before consuming meat, it should pay attention to the meat's hygiene and healthfulness," he said.
Now this is very good news, it makes one's heart happy. In most places, butchers used to slaughter on the roadside, the blood, dirt and bad smell used to make one angry. This slaughterhouse is now improved because on one hand the clean meat is regularly produced, and on the other hand impure meat is avoided. We hope that such independent slaughterhouses will be built in all provinces and districts so that the slaughterhouses can supply clean meat to the people.
Reply5 Comment
I spent my childhood in the village. When I went to the district market with my father, the shops in a certain part of the market were occupied by butchers. When passing through their shops, there was a strong stench. The reason was that the butcher would bring the animal and slaughter it in front of his shop. Every butcher's slaughterhouse must have some dirt in front of the shops, making you feel sick and hate purchasing the meat from them. Now the same situation is going on in the big cities. Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan and one of the biggest cities, is what I saw in the village and the district market I see now in Kabul. In Kabul, I have seen many times that butchers have been slaughtering the animals on the bank of the river in front of their shops, and the surrounding area has been destroyed. This impurity and stench causes malaria, typhoid, diarrhoea, stomachache and many other diseases in the country and destroys the environment. The construction of a slaughterhouse by the International Development Bank in Mazar-e-Sharif is appreciable. Still, I believe that I don't think a slaughterhouse should be used in big cities. I don't know if there is a slaughterhouse in Kabul or not, but if there is, then why is this evil act of the butchers not being stopped? It is important that the officials pay attention to this part and not allow slaughtering in any other place of the city except the slaughterhouse.
Reply5 Comment
Another critical point is that the butchers slaughtered the animals when the children went to or came from school. Children certainly love animals, and their emotional aspect is higher than that of adults, but they happen to face the scene of slaughtering an animal. Slaughtering some animals is indeed allowed in the Shari'ah, but this action negatively affects the emotional aspect of the children and some other people in public. These children are our future capital. Why do we spoil the emotional aspect of our children by force? These children will be hard-hearted tomorrow; they will do bad things and won't show mercy to anyone... By doing this, we are spoiling our children's lives and the environment, and we also welcome diseases. It is hoped that the authorities will pay serious attention to this aspect and prohibit the butchers from doing this in the cities and surrounding areas.
Reply5 Comment
It is better to have a place like this and slaughter the cattle in it than on the roadside. Slaughtering cattle on the roadsides is inappropriate; that causes a lot of trouble, and some suffer even more when they see slaughtering the cattle. Another point is that, by building slaughterhouses, bad quality will be prevented, and the customers will be able to get clean meat; inspection teams may be present and visit the animal slaughterhouse.
Reply5 Comment
The opening of this slaughterhouse with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province is appreciable. We did not have a slaughterhouse of this level all over Afghanistan, but we had a slaughterhouse in the city of Kabul, which was also related to the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan. Butchers could no longer slaughter animals in it. In all the famous cities of Afghanistan, butchers slaughtered cattle in front of their shops and created a bad smell in the city. Most of the butchers buy cattle that have died due to disease and their meat is forbidden and sell them to people. Most of the nomads also sell their dead animals to butchers. Due to the absence of slaughterhouses in the famous cities of Afghanistan, these activities become illegal. The Asian Development Bank should continue its cooperation in order to build similar slaughterhouses in other cities of Afghanistan. From now on, the people of Mazar-e-Sharif will have access to healthy meat. Mazar-e-Sharif municipality should try hard to make all the butchers of the city slaughter healthy cattle in the slaughterhouse and not in other places of the city. Veterinarians should also be aware of their duty and not let the butchers to slaughter the animals as long as they not make sure about the cattle's healthiness. The animals slaughtered in this slaughterhouse must be marked with a specific mark so that the people of the city can understand that this meat is halal and healthy.
Reply5 Comment