The lamb having its throat slit didn't want to die.
"The animal tried to stand up but couldn't as the ground was
slippery," said Christine Hafner of the International Fund For Animals on
the Today's Zaman website.
Hafner was monitoring the 2008 Eid animal sacrifices in Turkey, a four day
Muslim holiday in which believers slaughter animals as a reminder of the
prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
Turkey
has had a hard time with animal sacrifice. Western tourists have been horrified
by the plaintive bellowing of goats and lambs being slaughtered in their hotel
courtyards as they step out to sightsee, cameras swinging around their necks.
The
Turkish government was forced to ban slaughter in playgrounds and parks in 2007
though "environmental pollution after parts of animals were left in the
streets," is still an Eid problem says Today's Zaman.
Two years ago, Turkish Environmental and Forestry Minister Veysel Eroglu vowed
to make the holiday "more environmentally friendly."
Many Westerners do not want to see or hear an animal slaughtered much less do
it themselves.
And even those who observe Eid can have second thoughts.
"It is not so much the death as the manner of dying," writes Gamal
Nkrumah on the Al-Ahram website. "It's not as if they were running down a
cow or a sheep. Its throat is slit; the look of absolute terror in the eye of
the beast is hard to miss. One can tell from the nervous restlessness that the
defenseless animals sense danger. The darting eyes and incessant bleating are
tell-tale signs."
It
is not sight for the squeamish says Nkrumah.
"The scent of blood is invariably overwhelming on the first day of Eid
Al-Adha. One can literally sniff the blood in the air. It is pungent with a
hint of salt and bitterness. Some streets are awash with blood."
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