Saudi Gazette The cost of sacrificing animals in the Kingdom has reached an unacceptable high. Paying SR2,000 to sacrifice a sheep or goat may be too much of a pinch on many families' budgets. Consequently, Makkah Charitable Organization has found a reasonable solution for those who wish to perform the Sunnah of sacrificing an animal and feeding the poor but cannot afford it here. They are given the option of sacrificing an animal in one of the poorer countries of the world at prices as low as SR300 for a sheep and SR2,000 for a cow. Upon receipt of the donations, the charitable organization takes care of everything, right from transferring the money abroad to slaughtering the animal in the country of your choice to ensuring that poor families or orphans eat from the meat during Eid. Countries where one can sacrifice animals at a cheaper cost include Yemen, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Ethiopia, Chad and Sudan. Yasser Abdul Rahman, a representative of Makkah Charitable Organization in the Jeddah branch said, “This is a new experience. It encourages more people to aid the Muslims in need. With the rise in local prices of sacrificial animals during the Haj season, one can slaughter 4 animals in the poorer countries for the price of one animal here in Jeddah.” He added that in Sudan, one can purchase one sheep for less than SR400, whereas it costs SR300 in Sri Lanka, SR600 in Pakistan, and SR850 in Jordan. “Our first priority at the Makkah Charitable Organization is to feed orphans and their families, and other Muslims in need. The organization has been licensed by the government to collect donations for sacrificial animals to benefit poor Muslims inside the Kingdom and in other parts of the world,” said Abdul Rahman. __
