Two caught selling ‘bad’ meat

MULTAN:

Two butchers were caught selling unhygienic meat carrying fake Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company stamps in Pakpattan on Thursday.

Veterinary Officer Dr Saeed said he had received a tip off about some shops at Machli Chowk selling the meat of sick animals and carrion. He led a team to raid the shops and found some butchers selling meat unfit for human consumption that carried stamps of approval from the Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company.

Saeed said most of the butchers had managed to flee however they had arrested two, Aqeel Ahmad and Rasheed Ahmad, and seized 150kg of sub-standard meat carrying government stamps.

He said the customers at the shops had thanked the officials for their efforts to clamp down on meat unfit for human consumption. They requested them to expand the scope of their raids and clear out such butchers from Pakpattan.

The Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company, formerly Lahore Meat Company, is a state-run entity that looks into the affairs of automated slaughter houses and regulates the slaughter and preparation of halal animals under international standards and laws.

Dr Saeed said they had registered cases against the butchers who had fled.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2015.