Posted on 01/28/2005 2:42:10 PM PST by SEVENCROSS
Web-posted Thursday, January 27, 2005 Slaughter of lamb raises concerns
Precursor to ceremony runs afoul of policy at veterinary lab
By GREG CUNNINGHAM greg.cunningham@amarillo.com Amarillo Globe-News
The slaughter of a lamb at a state veterinary lab in Amarillo has raised a few eyebrows and could result in disciplinary action for two employees. In preparation for a Muslim holiday, the two Muslim veterinarians slaughtered the lamb at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in Amarillo on Friday in preparation for the Feast of the Sacrifice, a Muslim holiday commemorating the story of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son at the command of Allah, said Dr. Lelve G. Gayle, executive director of the lab system. Gayle declined to identify the two men.
Gayle, who is based in College Station, said that when word spread Monday that a religious ceremony might have happened on state property, he immediately flew to Amarillo to investigate. After numerous interviews, Gayle said it appears that lab policy was violated, but not due to any religious factors.
"I was very relieved to find out there was not a religious ceremony associated with anything within the lab," Gayle said. "There was a lamb killed at the lab on Friday, apparently for the purposes of consumption. The veterinary diagnostic lab is not a meat plant, so that was a violation of agency policy. Anything that goes into that lab does not come out for personal consumption."
The lab system - which has two full-service labs and is associated with Texas A&M University - is tasked with keeping the state's supply of feed animals disease-free and healthy. As part of that mission, lab workers conduct necropsies on dead animals and test tissue sent in by veterinarians for various diseases.
The two lab workers, one of whom owned the lamb, cut the animal's throat and allowed it to bleed before slaughtering it, Gayle said.
Gayle said he recognized that the rumor mill had blown much of the story out of proportion, but said if a religious ritual had truly been performed at the lab, action would have been taken immediately.
"Absolutely, that would have been a gross violation of our policy," Gayle said. "But that is just not the case. Obviously, people have their own perceptions, but apparently this lamb was killed in preparation for two employees' religious ceremony, which happened later, not at the lab at all."
Dr. Lal Almas, assistant professor of agriculture business and economics at West Texas A&M University, said he had no knowledge of what happened at the veterinary lab Friday, but said that as a practicing Muslim, he could see how those unfamiliar with the religion could be disturbed by the slaughtering of the lamb.
But the truth, Almas said, is that the Feast of the Sacrifice has a long, dignified history in Muslim cultures.
The holiday takes place on the 10th day of the last month of the Islamic calendar. The animal is slaughtered and used in a feast, but much of the meat is reserved to give to the poor, he said.
"There's not much difference between the way we slaughter and the way cattle are slaughtered here," Almas said. "We just say a few words to honor Allah before we do it."
Almas said he occasionally helps prepare meat in a similar manner for Edes Custom Meats for use by Muslims.
Melvin Edes, owner of the shop, went even further, saying anyone who buys meat is buying meat slaughtered in a nearly identical fashion.
"It's done exactly the same way, except they have their preacher here to bless it," Edes said. "The only difference between that meat and the rest of it is that I'm the only one saying a blessing on the other meat."
The view is largely the same looking from the perspective of the animal and its suffering, said area veterinarian Gregg Veneklasen.
An animal slaughtered in the Muslim manner dies the exact same death as does an animal slaughtered for kosher use or, for that matter, an animal slaughtered to go into the package of meat at the grocery store, he said.
Veneklasen said he thought there would be no controversy if the matter had involved Jews slaughtering a kosher lamb rather than Muslims.
"The bottom line is that the only problem is with who did it," Veneklasen said. "A lot of people only know what they see on TV and don't realize they (Muslims) aren't any different from us. They only see the 10 that make the noise and never see the million that are just living their lives."
Regardless of any controversy generated by the slaughter of the lamb, Gayle said he will conclude a thorough investigation of the matter and decide what disciplinary action, if any, is appropriate for the two men involved, hopefully within the next week or so.
Ok, where's PETA when you need it?
So why'd they have to do it at the lab? No one takes communion at the school lab.
CLARICE..............Clarice........where are you????
""There's not much difference between the way we slaughter and the way cattle are slaughtered here," Almas said. "We just say a few words to honor Allah before we do it.""
Sounds like a religious observance to me. Or did this sentence just skip the authorities attention span completely?
OK, this may be a little tinfoil hattish, but isn't anthrax an animal disease?
Oh! Multiculturalism is great!!! I say we embrace the Muslims!
"Sounds like a religious observance to me. Or did this sentence just skip the authorities attention span completely?"
It's an illegal religious thing only if it's Christian. Had they slaughtered the lamb in the name of Jesus, there would have been holy hell to pay. Besides, Islam is the religion of peace, and who wouldn't want a little peace now and then?
Oh fantastic! Elementary schoolkids can't have a Christmas program, but these guys (at the very least) break major lab policy and get away without even a slap on the hand?
This just (almost) ruined my day.
effin pc.......when's it gonna end?????
YUM! I had some traditional Mulsim-prepared lamb and it's the best lamb I've ever eaten.
Question: I'm not Muslim, but can I join the feast just for the chow?
Let's see if Michael Newdow files suit against this university. Separation of church and state, and all that.
If the lamb had been allowed to have been slaughtered in the fashion popular in nature, it would have had its flesh ripped from its throat while it was eaten alive. Hungry animals, in nature are never humane.
Where is PETA's outrage over the ROP?
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