Even In The Atmosphere Of The COVID-19 Pandemic, People In Aceh Remain Enthusiastic About Sacrifice

Illustration. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - People in Aceh Province, welcome the celebration of Iduladha 1441 Hijri with great joy, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their enthusiasm did not subside to continue carrying out the special worship that was carried out during the Eid pilgrimage, namely the sacrifice.

Acehnese cleric Tgk Faisal Ali said that the meaning of sacrifice for Muslims is the slaughter of certain animals, during holidays and tasyrik days, with the aim of getting closer to Allah.

"So we mean that this spirit of sacrifice is part of our efforts to end COVID-19. We draw closer to Allah through the slaughter of sacrificial animals," he said, quoted from Antara, Monday, July 27.

The cleric who is familiarly called Lem Faisal said that besides everyone's efforts to get closer to Allah, the spirit of sacrifice is also the momentum to help one another in the midst of COVID-19.

According to Lem Faisal, every Muslim who is given the ability by Allah has no reason not to perform the sacrifice.

"Don't use this as an excuse not to sacrifice because of the COVID-19 epidemic condition," he said.

According to the deputy chairman of the Aceh Ulama Consultative Assembly (MPU), even humans have to do the opposite, namely when there is a COVID-19 outbreak, everyone should be more enthusiastic about sacrificing, as a way to get closer to Allah.

Because, said Lem Faisal, humans cannot be separated from the help of the Creator, both in order to eliminate COVID-19 from themselves, their families, and even the world.

"One of the ways we get closer to Allah is related to this time, namely to sacrifice. Because now is the moment of the sacrifice," he said.

So people who are given convenience by Allah, do not make a pandemic excuse not to sacrifice. "By being tested by Allah through this pandemic, we must be even more enthusiastic about sacrifice," he said

Nevertheless, Lem Faisal also reminded all processes carried out during the slaughter, to the distribution of the sacrificial meat packages, to adhere to health protocols, starting from maintaining distance, wearing masks and others.

Sacrificial Animal Supply

Meanwhile, the Livestock Service Office of Aceh Province stated that the supply of sacrificial animals in the entire Tanah Rencong area was as much as 40,334 livestock, consisting of 16,722 cows, 3,491 buffalo and 20,121 goats and sheep.

The service office also continues to tighten monitoring and supervision of the sacrificial animals prior to the slaughter process, as an effort to prevent the spread of diseases that can be transmitted to humans.

"Supervision and monitoring will be carried out in all regions by optimizing the role of veterinarians and paramedics in each sub-district," said Head of the Animal Protection and Veterinary Public Health Section of the Aceh Animal Husbandry Service, Zakaria.

He explained that from the place where the sacrificial animals were sold, the health and age of the cattle had been checked.

His party has coordinated with animal health experts from various universities in Indonesia, that there has been no zoonosis from animal meat products to humans related to COVID-19.

For the implementation of slaughtering sacrificial animals later, he said, his party has socialized to slaughter committees in mosques to implement the COVID-19 protocol, such as owners of sacrificial animals are not recommended to come to slaughterhouses.

Meanwhile, the officers or the sacrificial committee will also be equipped with masks, gloves and aprons.

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Ensure Animal Health

Chairperson of the Aceh Branch of the Indonesian Veterinary Doctors Association (PDHI), drh Zulyaziani Yahya, said that his party has also started deploying teams to the field to carry out surveillance and health checks for sacrificial animals.

On Friday 24 July, PDHI Aceh Branch and the Food, Agriculture, Marine and Fisheries Service (DPPKP) of Banda Aceh City sent 43 extension workers and 23 veterinarians to monitor and examine the condition of sacrificial animals in the Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar areas.

Zulyazaini said PDHI other districts / cities in Aceh would also do the same, after coordinating with the local government and mosques regarding the implementation schedule.

"We as medical personnel are certainly equipped with standard operating procedures (SOPs) in handling and examining sacrificial animals," he said.

He explained that there were two examinations carried out regarding the health condition of the sacrificial animals, namely the antemortem examination or before the animal was slaughtered and postmortem examination or after the animal was slaughtered.

Before slaughtering, he said, officers will check the source of the livestock. If originating from outside the area, there must be an animal health certificate, which generally states that the condition is healthy and does not have zoonoses that cause disease transmission from animals to humans.

Furthermore, a physical examination of the animal is carried out starting from the skin, eyes, urine, no defects, and all the physical parts of the animal. Including the teeth to find out the animal is old enough to be sacrificed.

"After the matter is checked, we will attach a sticker to the animal that the animal has been examined by a doctor, is in a healthy condition and is fit for consumption," said Zulyazaini.

Meanwhile, the examination after slaughtering, namely doctors and paramedics, will mainly look at the internal organs such as the liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and heart. As in the animal's liver, the officer will detect tapeworms that can be dangerous to humans.

"Alhamdulillah, last year's experience we never got anything that was not suitable for consumption. There are also some places where the liver of animals contains tapeworms, so that the liver should not be consumed, but the meat can be consumed," he said.

According to him, they carried out the examination as an effort to ensure that the sacrificial animals were Safe, Healthy, Whole and Halal (ASUH) for consumption by the people of the Serambi Mecca area.

"After being slaughtered, officers also check their organs, to make sure the animals that have been slaughtered are healthy. The hope is that people are safe to consume sacrificial animals," he said.

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