Enough meat supply for Korban

THERE will be an adequate supply of livestock and meat to cater to local demand for the upcoming Aidil Adha celebrations, which falls on Monday.

Currently, PDS Abattoir Sdn Bhd has an oversupply of more than 100 livestock which would be able to meet local demand, said Manolito Untalan, spokesperson for the abattoir company.

"Our livestock has arrived a few weeks before and more than half of it has already been booked," he told The Brunei Times.

With only a few days away from the festivities, he urged the public to make their bookings early so that preparations for slaughter dates can be arranged.

Mulaut Abattoir Sdn Bhd yesterday also said that there is a sufficient supply of livestock.

"At the moment 75 to 80 per cent of our stock imported for Hari Raya Aidil Adha has already been bought for the occasion since we open the bookings on November 29," said Yusran Hj Abdullah, senior controller business development at Mulaut Abattoir Sdn Bhd.

He added that this is a common scenario during this occasion, thus it is better to make bookings as soon as possible, he added.

This year, the company imported 350 bulls, 250 buffaloes and 420 goats from Australia.

"We ordered approximately the same volume from last year as we projected similar trends will also happen again this year," he said.

The livestock are brought in from Australia via Halaqah Sdn Bhd, the licensed and approved government body for imported live cattle.

Hanishahalin Abdullah, the spokeperson from Halaqah, said that all livestock are bought in accordance to the requests made by the abattoirs. She assured that all the imported cattles complies to the specifications from the Agriculture Department.

During Aidil Adha, or commonly known as Hari Raya Korban, cows, bulls, camels or goats are slaughtered to mark the sacrifices made by the Prophet Ibrahim, who demonstrated immense faith when he was put to the test by Allah (SWT).

Celebrated about two months after Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, on the 10th day of Zulhijjah, it marks the end of the haj pilgrimage period (about two weeks).

About one third of the offering is given to the individual who made the sacrifice, while the rest is given to the poor . (DKR1 and JNB1)