It's a big day for the animal rights movement in Egypt. Hussein Mansour, Head of the Food Safety department in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, announced that all meat products sold in the country are not halal and instead, are highly contaminated.
Mansour revealed the shocking facts about the condition and contamination of all animal meat sold in supermarkets and butchers. He also publicly stated that none of the slaughter methods used on animals today are applicable with the Islamic rules and instructions.
In statements made to ElWatanNews.com, Mansour said ''There is no fresh or halal meat in Egypt. You're not supposed to cut and sell meat in a high temperature area, it's supposed to be refrigerated. Also, the way animals are slaughtered, skinned and transported from rural areas into major cities are highly contaminated, dirty and exceeded what is permissible by international standards."
He pointed out that 40% of animal meat is being wasted due to the primitive ways of slaughter and the transportation of meat that is exposed to dust, insects, microbes and car exhaust.
Mansour didn't end it there, he also pointed out and spoke up about the inhumane treatment of farm animals in Egypt. In the same statement he made to ElWatanNews.com, he said "slaughter inside or outside slaughterhouses are not done according to the Islamic Law." According to the Islamic Law, no animal should be slaughtered in front of the other and it is not permissible to torture animals before they are slaughtered. "We conducted an investigation in over 470 slaughterhouses across the country and it was confirmed that butchers think that just by saying 'Allahu Akbar' while slaughtering an animal makes it halal" Mansour added.
It may be the time to launch a campaign calling for laws to protect animals in Egypt.