Islamabad:
With Eidul Azha less than a week away, the demand for butchers in the capital has risen significantly, driven by the expected increase in the slaughter of sacrificial animals during the Islamic festival.
While some residents have already bought their animals, many are still looking for appropriate livestock. In this context, the role of the butchers has become essential to ensure proper slaughter and meat preparation.
Due to their high demand and limited accessibility, professional butchers have increased their service fees compared to last year.
Khawar Shehzad, a butcher who also runs a meat shop in Islamabad’s sector I-10, said Eidul Azha is a special Islamic festival after slaughtering animals at a mass level, which emphasized that everyone was looking for professional butchers to chop their meat, which triggered high demand.
“Everyone is looking for a professional and skilled butcher at Eidul Azha to ensure high quality meat cut – this is our high season,” he said.
Shehzad shared its slaughterhouse for this year and noted that the cow slaughter on the first day of Eid is price for RS25,000, while the rate falls to RS20,000 on the second day. By the third day, the charges vary between RS15,000 and RS18,000, depending on the demand.
The charges of goat and a sheep’s victims range from RS6,000 to RS7,000, he added.
While residents of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) eagerly prepare for Eidul Azha, many have expressed concern about the rising prices of victims and the high fees charged by butchers.
Tariq Mahmood, a resident of the same sector who bought his animal at Eid, said he was trying to get the reservation of a professional butcher for his meat preparation who has high rates and high demand, and added, “If I can’t book one, I will go with a seasonal one.”
According to Tariq, the seasonal butchers are more or less equally efficient and skilled and share his previous year’s experience.
Despite the fact that the demand for professional and talented butchers is especially high, people somehow succeed in finding an appropriate person to sacrifice their animals.
To help meet the growing demand, many butchers from all over the country also travel to Islamabad under Eid. These visitors butchers often charge a little less and provide a practical solution to the city’s lack of qualified labor. Their presence also gave them an opportunity to improve their earnings more than they typically have in their hometowns.
