İstanbul Veterinary Physicians Chamber President Tahsin Yeşildere says that invitations have not been extended this year to European Union branches of NGOs such as Animals’ Angels, which traditionally send observers here.
In years past, graphic images from the sacrifices have been published widely in the media and led to intense debate over the religious duty of sacrificing animals. Insufficient numbers of modern butchery facilities had led members of the public to perform the sacrifices in unhealthy environments not suitable for those purposes. Particularly in metropolises like İstanbul and Ankara, people had set up makeshift slaughtering facilities on roadsides and at carwashes.
The situation led to some unsightly scenes in the streets and also drew reactions from domestic and international animal rights activists; each year teams from the EU would come and write a report on the conditions during Eid al-Adha.
Work to rectify this situation in Turkey has yielded fruit in recent years, with the Directorate of Religious Affairs working in conjunction with regional municipal and agricultural authorities to reduce the unsanitary and unacceptable conditions. The EU has also noticed the increase in the number of clean, modern and humane slaughtering facilities and stricter controls on animal slaughter in Turkey in recent years. Many animal rights groups have been satisfied by the new facilities and the new procedure of having veterinarians oversee the slaughters.
Yeşildere said there had been a very significant decrease in the unacceptable practices of the past. “Conditions have improved considerably. Before, unauthorized people were performing sacrifices in mosque courtyards and in the streets; this still occurs, but much less frequently than before. Sacrifice facilities are modern now, and the negative images have decreased. Due to this, the need for European observers is no longer felt,” he said. He also noted that the places where sacrifices take place should be located outside of major cities and said it fell upon municipalities to make this happen.
