Salam Municipality and police patrols on Makkah-Jeddah Old Road Monday morning seized 270 headless sheep unfit for human consumption from a number of vehicles heading to Jeddah. The head of the municipality's Markets Department, Abdullah Al-Zahrani, said 250 slaughtered sheep were seized from a Toyota Dyna as 20 others were seized from other trucks. He said the lamb had been exposed to sun, dirt and pollution, and were all destroyed on the spot. Fines were imposed on the drivers of the cars carrying the lamb he added. Meanwhile, authorities imposed fines of SR210,000 on 35 restaurants specialized in rice and meat dishes (like Mandi) for using meat unfit for human consumption in Jeddah. Dr. Nasir Al-Jarallah, director of Markets and Slaughterhouses Administration at Jeddah Municipality, said the shops permitted to slaughter are monitored until the end of Eid Al-Adha festivities. He said the municipality has made available 25 veterinarians to examine sheep inside the shops for free. Dr. Al-Jarallah also headed a team of inspectors that foiled an attempt to smuggle 2,000 sacrificed animals from the holy sites to restaurants in Jeddah. In Taif, security patrols on Monday raided a warehouse and seized more than 1,500 slaughtered sheep. A number of expatriate workers who, according to investigations, were preparing to distribute the meat to some restaurants, were also arrested. In another incident, four expatriates were arrested at a checkpoint in Al-Wasliyah District for having quantities of rotten carcasses in the bed of their pick-up truck. They are being investigated.
