RAWALPINDI: The district administration on Friday directed full activation of the slaughterhouse at Sihala in order to discourage slaughtering of animals in streets and on roads and ensure quality meat for consumers.

For long, open slaughtering of animals under unhygienic conditions has continued unchecked in the garrison city due to the indifference by the administration.

There are two slaughterhouses in the city: at the Railway Road near Leh Nullah and Sihala. The slaughterhouse in Sihala was established for the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. However, the authorities have failed to force butchers to bring their animals there for slaughtering.

Under the Punjab Food Act, slaughtering of animals without examination by a veterinary doctor is banned.

Strict legal action will be taken against those slaughtering animals in streets or roads, says DC

But butchers are selling mutton and beef without verification from veterinary doctors. They do not take their animals to slaughterhouses in order to avoid paying fees.

However, after a gap of years, a meeting of the Meat Board and slaughterhouse members, chaired by Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema, was held on Friday. The meeting discussed measures to ensure the quality of meat in Rawalpindi and prevent illegal slaughtering of animals.

The meeting was told that on an average 250 animals were slaughtered daily at the Silaha slaughterhouse. The participants presented suggestions so that a coordinated strategy could be developed to improve the quality of meat and eliminate illegal slaughtering.

The deputy commissioner said no compromise would be made on the quality of meat. He said it was necessary to discourage illegal slaughtering of animals, adding strict legal action would be taken against those involved in it.

He directed the concerned agencies to effectively monitor the slaughterhouses and ensure full implementation of the sanitation norms.

He said slaughterhouses should be run by expert staff and a detailed health check of all animals should be carried out.

The representatives from the Livestock Department told the meeting that they were taking necessary steps to improve the quality of meat. It was also decided in the meeting that a daily report about the slaughterhouses would be prepared to ensure complete transparency.

The deputy commissioner said every possible step would be taken to ensure the provision of quality and healthy meat to the citizens. He appealed to the public to cooperate in reporting illegal animal slaughtering.

When contacted, Khursheed Qureshi, President Jamiatul Quresh, said butchers of Islamabad had demanded a separate slaughterhouse and in this regard PC-I had been prepared by Nespak but CDA was reluctant to start work on it at I-11/4.

“We are not using the abattoir at Sihala for the last 40 years as it is far away from Islamabad. Only some butchers of Rawalpindi are using it. Most of the butchers in Rawalpindi also avoided going there due to lack of facilities and increased transportation charges,” he said.

Mr Qureshi said over 800 big animals were daily slaughtered in Rawalpindi, but only 200 of them were taken to the Sihala slaughterhouse. The remaining animals are slaughtered in inner city areas.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2025