Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Animal markets bustling in Kashmir Valley ahead of Eid

Animal markets bustling in Kashmir Valley ahead of Eid

goatSrinagar : As Eid-ul-Zuha approaches, animal markets across the Kashmir Valley were bustling with shoppers on Sunday who were looking to buy sacrificial animals to mark the festival on Wednesday.

Muslims all over the world offer animal sacrifices to commemorate the sacrifice made by Prophet Abrahim. It is for this reason that Eid-ul-Zuha is also known as Bakr Eid.

Makeshift animal shops have come up in all cities and towns although the Eidgah grounds in Srinagar continues to remain the biggest such market.

The sacrificial animals being sold at the Eidgah market were sheep, goats and also a few camels.

State government has fixed rates for these sacrificial animals, but the official order determining the price seems to be nobody’s priority.

A well fed sheep can cost anything between Rs 5,000 to Rs 12,000 as buyers and sellers engage in hectic haggling over the prices.

Once they have bought a sacrificial animal or two, Kashmiris are seen lined up outside bakeries.

Buying bakery items for the family around the Eid festival has almost become a ritual in the Valley.

Well known bakeries in Srinagar sell cakes, pastries and biscuits worth millions of rupees on Eid.

Other priority items on the Eid shopping list are new clothes and firecrackers for children.

In sharp contrast to Eid-ul-Fitr, very few locals are seen hanging around butcher shops on Eid-ul-Zuha.

This is because gifts of mutton of sacrificial animals reach homes of neighbours, relatives and friends in every locality of the Valley on Eid-ul-Zuha.

During the last 10 years, locals have engaged in organising charity for supporting orphanages and even individual households who are in need of financial support.

—IANS

Group urges Indonesia to shut cruel live animal markets

Group urges Indonesia to shut cruel live animal markets

AnimalBy Ainur Rohmah,

Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Campaigners of the Dog Meat-Free Indonesia Coalition (DMFI) urged the Indonesian Government to close the cruel live animal in country’s markets, where dogs were burned alive for food.

The group in a statement said thousands of dogs and cats were publicly beaten, burned alive and slaughtered for food in Indonesia every week.

Most people in Indonesia do not consume dogs and cats, only about seven percent of the 250 million population of the country.

The coalition has filmed two of the 200 live animal markets in North Sulawesi, Tomohon and Langowan Markets, showing the horrific suffering endured by animals.

Lola Webber, Dog Meat Free Indonesia’s campaign coordinator, said the animals they saw in the market were terrified, often sick and injured after a grueling journey into the market and rough handling by traders.

“It was like walking through hell, they were huddled in a cage waiting for their turn, trembling with fear when they saw their neighbors being killed around them,” she explained.

Bobby Fernando from Animal Friends Jogja said many people will be surprised by the horror of the video, however, the government and society should not just turn away.

The activists called on local governments and tour operators to stop promoting these markets as a must-see for tourists.

“These poor animals have to bear the horror every day, and they have nobody but us to speak for them,” he said.

According to him, “Wonderful Indonesia” the slogan to attract tourists is just an empty slogan when people look at the real situation in those markets.

“We need the whole world to join us to demand an end to the trade of dog and cat meat in Indonesia.” Take action at http://www.dogmeatfreeindonesia.org by writing to the Indonesian government and signing our petition,” he said.

Dog Meat Free Indonesia (DMFI) Coalition was founded by Animal Friends Jogja, Change For Animals Foundation, Humane Society International and Jakarta Animal Aid Network.

—AA