Eid Al Adha in UAE: Ministry takes measures to ensure supply of healthy livestock for sacrifice

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has introduced a comprehensive plan for the Eid Al Adha sacrificial season. This includes providing all essential supplies, diagnostic tools, and a team of specialists to inspect animals intended for sacrifice to ensure they are healthy and disease-free. Furthermore, the ministry will adhere to all protocols and rules regarding the issuance of permits for the import of animals and sacrifices through various entry points in the country.

Teams from the ministry’s food diversity and regional sectors have committed to ensuring compliance with all standards and procedures for importing animals and sacrifices via the country’s ports. This includes guaranteeing that these animals are entirely disease-free, in line with an ongoing coordination mechanism that operates throughout the year, especially during the Eid Al Adha season.

The ministry announced that from the start of 2023 until mid-June, they have received and approved the entry of 366,035 animals, including sheep, goats, cows, and camels, through the various border ports of the state. This approval comes after the animals undergo necessary veterinary quarantine procedures and clinical and laboratory examinations to ensure they are healthy and free from any contagious, epidemic, or zoonotic diseases. This number signifies an increase of 12 per cent from the same period last year when 326,913 animals were received.

The ministry has arranged for all necessary supplies, technical and diagnostic resources, and specialised personnel to inspect the incoming shipments, ensuring the health and disease-free status of the animals. Recognising the state’s ports as the primary line of defence against epidemic, contagious, and zoonotic diseases, the ministry’s actions fall in line with its dedication to facilitating food trade, diversifying

import sources — a vital element of the state’s food security — and meeting local market demands for livestock.

Mohammed Mousa Alameeri, Assistant Undersecretary for the Food Diversity Sector at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, emphasised the ministry’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the national veterinary quarantine system. By enforcing strict regulatory and inspection procedures, the ministry aims to strengthen the management of veterinary quarantine procedures, safeguarding public health and animal resources. This is achieved by adhering to laws and regulations that oversee the trade of live animals and ensuring no barriers obstruct the movement of live livestock shipments entering the country’s ports.

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Alameeri said: “Through its precautionary measures, the ministry conducts periodic follow-ups on the epidemiological health status developments of countries around the world through its integrated digital systems for monitoring epidemics. It also undertakes preventive measures to ban the import of live animals and their products from affected countries, only allowing imports when declared free of infectious and epidemic diseases.”

He added: “The Ministry seeks to activate a set of health protocols to open new, safe, high-quality import sources to diversify import sources and increase food security rates. This is achieved by evaluating the health standards applied to protect animal wealth in exporting countries and the veterinary quarantine procedures before allowing exports to the country. Work is ongoing in the main previously approved exporting countries to supply live animals to the country to prevent any shortage in the number of live animals during the blessed Eid Al Adha season.”

Shaikha Ahmed Al Ali, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for the Regions Sector at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, affirmed the ministry’s vital role in working in synergy with partners like port authorities, customs, and various regulatory bodies. This collaboration is instrumental in aiding importers of live animals and their products, ensuring the rapid provision of services, especially during the Eid Al Adha season.

She said: “The ministry gives importers a high priority and continually works to develop all service delivery channels. It has provided import services as automatic digital services issued by the system without human intervention within a time frame that does not exceed five minutes. It has put in place mechanisms to analyse data on demand for import services and proactively respond to it according to a flexible operating system that meets their needs in veterinary quarantine centres, such as extending working hours, enhancing them with quarantine veterinarians and laboratory technicians, providing laboratory examination requirements, and establishing alternative procedures. All this aims to accomplish the services in the shortest possible time, maintain the highest quality standards, accommodate any expected increase in the number of shipments to ensure the smooth operation of the services provided to importers, and enhance their satisfaction.”