Scarcity of sacrificial animals hits Jakarta on Day of Sacrifice

JAKARTA (JP): Observance of Idul Adha in the capital and its surrounding areas on Sunday was marked by a scarcity of goats used for slaughtering to commemorate the Muslim Day of Sacrifice.

Goats at many locations in Greater Jakarta had been sold out by midday Saturday.

With the help of local committee members, the devout, who wanted to sacrifice goats as is obligatory for Muslims who are economically able, had to go as far as Parung in West Java to find a sacrificial animal.

Knowing the high demand, many traders -- who first thought the market would be sluggish due to the recession -- abruptly increased their prices.

"We just got one at 4 a.m. in Parung at the price of Rp 550,000 thanks to the fearless efforts of my son who looked for an animal for several hours in the wee hours," said a Tangerang housewife.

Some Muslims in Jakarta eventually decided to jointly buy a cow instead of goats.

After the morning Idul Adha prayers, a number of local committees -- set up to help organize the slaughtering and distribution of the meat -- apologized for their inability to help several Muslim families in their respective neighborhoods purchase goats.

Some of the committees urged the devout to pool their money to buy a cow, which is usually used for sacrifice by wealthy Muslims.

Some committee members suggested Muslims buy and slaughter goats on their own.

According to Islamic teachings, animals to be slaughtered for Idul Adha are acceptable up to three days after the Idul Adha prayer. The meat has to be distributed immediately after slaughtering to needy people.

Idul Adha coincides with the 12th Islamic month of Dzulhijjah which marks the peak for those on the haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

The goat scarcity in the capital was not anticipated by traders.

Traders who flocked into Jakarta about two weeks before Idul Adha thought the demand for goats, which are much cheaper than cows, for this year's Sacrifice Day would be sluggish due to the country's crippling economy.

Besides that, an increase in the robbing of trucks transporting goats and the high price of goats from breeders also forced traders to bring only half of their usual number of goats here.

"To avoid possible robbery which often occurs along the main road of Java's northern coast, I picked up goats only from Lampung (in South Sumatra)," goat trader Chaidir, who is a computer student at Budi Luhur college, said.

Goats in the capital sold for between Rp 250,000 and Rp 750,000 each, depending on the size. The price was between Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000 more expensive than last year.

The price increased another Rp 50,000 to Rp 100,000 on Saturday evening.

A cow sold for between Rp 3 million and Rp 4 million each, compared to less than Rp 2 million last year.

According to Sri Mulyono of the city livestock husbandry agency, the scarcity was mainly due to misjudgment on the part of traders.

The supply of goats here, he said, totaled around 35,000 this year, which is a 20 percent drop from last year's figures.

Goats and cows in the capital are bought from places such as Lampung, Central Java, East Java, Yogyakarta, South Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara and Bali. (bsr/ylt/ind/01)