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.
Eid Sacrifice is Sad Day For Animals by Martha Rosenberg
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."
Nor
are children spared the blood and gore.
Boys
"are traditionally required to observe the ritual slaughter" says
Nkrumah. "It is a familiar scene, year in, year out -- children darting
forward and back excitedly, jumping up and down. Their blood is up, their
adrenaline soaring."
For years French actress Brigitte Bardot has campaigned against Eid sacrifice
methods in which French laws for animals to be stunned or electrically
anesthetized before being killed and having their blood drained are largely
ignored.
"1,000 sheep were slaughtered last month"only 300 yards from my
house" she told the Washington Post with moral outrage a few years ago.
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