Killing: All in a day's work for Kusnanto
By Ahmad Solikhan
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The man gripped the sharpened machete in his right hand, his face a mask of frosty detachment. His lips moved slightly as he recited a silent prayer before the carnage began.
He brought the machete down swiftly on one neck, the blood spurting out and covering the white porcelain floor in flourishes of red. The sickly sweet smell of blood, stinging to the nostrils, filled the room.
The dark-skinned man continued, robot-like, with no appearance of guilt, no shame about what he was doing in front of others. It is something he has done hundreds of times, for this is the lot of Kusnanto, 48, a butcher from Ngampilan, Yogyakarta.
The elementary-school graduate has been involved in slaughtering since the age of 18, and is now a registered butcher with the government's animal husbandry department. The certification of modin is to ensure the animals are halal, or slaughtered according to Islamic dietary principles (pigs must be slaughtered by non-Muslims).
He said he considered his occupation to be like any other, and something he was put on this earth to perform.
Kusnanto butchers from 30 to 50 cows a day and 20 to 30 goats a day. He is paid Rp 500 for each cow that he slaughters and Rp 250 for each goat.
He is also willing to help out traders with the skinning of the animals.
"It only takes me 50 minutes to skin a cow and 25 minutes to skin a coat," he said proudly.
The fee for skinning a cow is Rp 75,000 to Rp 100,000 and Rp 20,000 to Rp 25,000 for a goat.
"I slaughter cows and goats with the assistance of four helpers whose job is to cut the meat into pieces," he said.
Idul Adha (the Islamic Day of Sacrifice), which falls on Monday, provides him with more opportunities to earn income. Financially able Muslims are obliged to sacrifice livestock, with the meat to be distributed to the poor.
The orders flow in, especially from the Yogyakarta Mosque Committee. Kusnanto said he cannot count how many animals he butchers on the holy day, but he is only able to skin a maximum of two cows and four goats after he has performed the special prayer on the day.
"I don't fix any fee, it is up to the person who gives the order, this way the sacrifice is also for me," he said.
Disease
A concern in recent months has been the health of the animals, with outbreaks of mad cow disease (BSE) in Europe and reported cases of anthrax in Bogor, West Java.
Head of the animal husbandry department Machmud Asvan quieted the public's fears by stating that there were no reported cases of diseases such as BSE in the area or the country.
He added that hygiene and health of the animals was assured because they were examined and laboratory tests were conducted on them before they were butchered.
Underweight and unhealthy animals will be quarantined for a couple of months until they are fit for slaughter.
A major problem in animals in Yogyakarta is the presence of intestinal worms, which particularly affect older animals of six years and above. Their presence can be detected in the liver, which will be thick and yellowish, and most butchers throw it away.
Another problem is pneumonia, which is plainly evident in inflamed lungs coated with mucus. Although the infected lungs are thrown away, the meat is allowed for human consumption because, Asvan said, "both diseases cannot spoil the meat".
In addition, the animal husbandry service has been monitoring the health and freshness of meat from outside the region, like Boyolali, Central Java. For example, if it is found that the meat destined for market is improperly packed and spoiled, it will be returned to its place of origin.
According to Asvan, the distinctive features of meat that is unfit for human consumption are a bluish color and a fishy smell.
The animal husbandry office will only permit butchering other than at slaughterhouses for religious purposes, such as Idul Adha, or for customary ceremonies. Anyone caught violating Regional Regulation No. 4 1999 is subject to a maximum three- month jail term or a fine of up to Rp 2 million.