BEIRUT: Meat traders expressed anger and confusion over the abrupt closure of the Karantina slaughterhouse Wednesday, as the municipality laid out new health regulations for the controversial facility’s reopening. The slaughterhouse was “temporarily” closed for renovations Wednesday, a day after the Beirut governor revealed the decision during an interview with The Daily Star.
Renovations were in full swing Wednesday afternoon, with workers seen digging into the concrete floor.
Several meat traders that run their businesses out of the slaughterhouse were also present, and they expressed a mixture of bewilderment and frustration over what to do with their remaining cattle.
Meat trader Farouk al-Hasan said he was glad the slaughterhouse was undergoing some much-needed renovations, but added that he wished they had been given more notice.
“We wanted some time to take care of our things and the cattle that we were going to work on, to discuss things with our customers, find somewhere else to slaughter,” Hasan lamented. “But they just dropped this on us out of nowhere.”
Hasan said he and the other meat traders found out about the closure via a television interview with the Beirut governor. The slaughterhouse administration has given them until Monday to clear out their cattle.
The closure of the Karantina slaughterhouse is the latest development in the ongoing food scandal sparked last week by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour’s decision to name and shame food establishments that sell contaminated products.
This week, Abu Faour said the Karantina slaughterhouse was closed as it did not meet minimum health and hygiene requirements and said the water they used to clean the meat was also contaminated.
The minister also said a partial solution was no longer sufficient, and demanded the closure of three other slaughterhouses in south Lebanon. Governor of north Lebanon Ramzi Nahra also announced Wednesday that Tripoli’s slaughterhouse would be closed for failing to meet hygiene requirements.
Besides refurbishing the building to be more sanitary, the Beirut municipality has laid out some basic health regulations for the slaughterhouse’s reopening and has announced it is looking for a location to build a new one.
The new regulations stipulate the public will no longer be allowed to purchase meat directly from the slaughterhouse and only licensed butchers and restaurant owners will be allowed to enter the building. Licenses to enter will have to be renewed every three months.
Previously, the meat traders were merely bringing staff “off the street” to slaughter their cattle, Beirut slaughterhouse director Joseph Mounem said, but now only licensed slaughterers would be allowed on the premises.
The decision also included stipulations that all equipment be cleaned and that staff wear protective gear.
However, there was a notable absence of details regarding how to improve the treatment of the animals at the Karantina slaughterhouse. Compassion In World Farming, an NGO that campaigns to end factory farming, has been calling for the building’s closure for over a year in light of what they say is the abuse of the animals inside. During a visit to the facility last week, The Daily Star saw clearly distressed and struggling cows tied by their necks to the ceiling before being slaughtered.
Mounem said these concerns would be addressed when the municipality builds a new slaughterhouse.
“The issue of animal rights is going to be fundamental in the new slaughterhouse,” he explained.
Mounem said that there would be an improvement in the methods of slaughter and measures would be taken to ensure the animal is calm before it dies, possibly even playing calm music in the slaughterhouse, but he admitted it could take up to two years to build a new slaughterhouse.
Hasan doubts the project will ever see the light of day. “That’s what they say but that’s not likely because they’re liars,” he said. “This is the ‘temporary’ slaughterhouse of Beirut. We’ve been here for 20 years and two months and 10 days.”
Local business owners who work next to the slaughterhouse shared their doubts regarding the likelihood of a new slaughterhouse being built, but said they were happy that to have a break from the pungent odor that emanates from the area.
“It’s best to get rid of it once and for all,” said Munir Amayrat, a fruit stand owner. He said the meat was not truly halal as the slaughterers claimed it was and the place required round-the-clock monitoring, though he admitted he did not trust the state with such a task. “You can’t trust anyone from the government. They all work on bribes. You need monitors to watch the monitors.”
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