WASHINGTON, Jan 24: US lawyers and government officials have defended the right of American Muslims to offer sacrifices during Eidul Azha, thus peacefully ending a potential dispute that could have further strained America's relations with the Islamic community.

Officials in North Carolina, where Muslims slaughtered 100 lambs at a farm this weekend, refused to stop the sacrifices despite objections from some local groups.

Glenn Barfield, a lawyer representing North Carolina farm owners who had rented their farm for the ritual, said he hoped the local community as well as government officials realize, "this is not a picnic, and it is a very serious religious ceremony."

Agriculture Department spokesman Brian Long said the department, which monitored the slaughtering with video cameras, had no concern with "why the animals are being slaughtered" but it believes that the farmers who lease their farm for this purpose must be licensed to run a slaughterhouse.

The arrangements for the sacrifices were made after negotiations between the state, the Muslims and father-son farmers Kenneth and Eddie Rowe, who had leased their farm in rural Princeton for use during Eidul Azha.

Explaining why the Agriculture Department decided to monitor the farm during the sacrifices, Mr Long said: "It's not a matter of why the animals are being slaughtered. It's a matter of who's providing the slaughter service and the fact that he doesn't have a licensed facility."

But Mr Barfield said people who kill livestock of their own raising were not required to be licensed to slaughter. He says state law allows individuals to share meat with members of their household and non-paying guests.

Local and national newspapers in America published the story about the dispute prominently, some even on their front pages, but most of them approached the news with a positive spirit, pointing out that the three-day Eidul Azha holiday honours Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son because of his obedience and devotion to God. It also marks the end of the Haj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah.

The media observed that for meat to be deemed halal, an animal must be killed with a sharp knife across the throat with both carotid arteries cut at once. That allows the animal to bleed quickly and die quietly, said one report.

While there are three licensed facilities in North Carolina that specialize in halal slaughter, some Muslims prefer to conduct the slaughter themselves, said the report.

The state government, however, was concerned because the Rowes were not licensed to run a slaughterhouse. But they had raised lambs on their farm 35 miles south east of the state capital Raleigh and leased it for the weekend to Muslims who wanted to slaughter a lamb under the rules of halal.

Mr Barfield, who represents the farmers, says he does not believe the Rowes violated any laws by allowing the animals to be killed on their property. He compared the slaughter to similar rituals that are common in eastern North Carolina.

"In eastern North Carolina, we have a long tradition of doing the same thing," Mr Barfield said. "We just don't practice (Islam)." The Rowes have allowed the slaughter for several years. When the Agriculture Department learned of the practice last year, officials told Eddie Rowe that he had to stop. To get around that problem, the farmers leased the farm to Muslims who wanted to participate, Mr Barfield said.