Online firms offer animal sacrifice services

KARACHI: The number of online companies providing services to facilitate the ritual of animal sacrifice on Eidul Azha has increased substantially since its introduction four years ago. These businesses provide all services associated with the holy sacrifice, including selection of the animal to be sacrificed, hiring of a butcher and distribution of the meat amongst the less privileged.

Customers can even browse through pictures of the available animals online and make selections on the basis of weight. Payments are then made via credit or debit cards.

The business has attracted young entrepreneurs with a background in information and communication technology.

According to Iftikhar Hasan, the media coordinator for qurbanionline.com, one such online company, the growth of such companies has been compounded by the trust people have placed in these companies by authorising them to conduct the sacrifice on their behalf.

He said that such companies came into existence around four years back but the sector has shown tremendous growth over the past two years. He explained that his company has expanded its offices to Lahore, Islamabad and Dubai this year after initially setting up operations in Karachi. Plans for a London office next year are afoot, he added.

Hasan said that due to rising prices, people are now opting for a share in the sacrifice of a cow or buffalo instead of buying a goat. However, he added that the demand for goats from abroad has remained unchanged.

A share of a sacrificial animal is priced at $85 each this year, which represents a noticeable increase from the price of $65-70 last year. The online price for a goat last year was $200-250 which has risen to $300-325 this year.

Hasan explained that the company had received orders for 350 sacrifices last year but this year’s tally is expected to be between 800 and 1,000 animals. Of these orders, around 40 per cent have requested that the meat be delivered to their residence.

Special instructions for the sacrifice are collected by the company three days before Eid, said Hasan. Non-governmental organisations from Turkey and South Africa have also requested the services of the company to distribute meat amongst flood victims.

It is important to lend credibility to such online companies, said Hasan, adding that this is why many of these organisations have obtained fatwas from leading clerics and displayed them on their websites. Marketing is being carried out online and through volume-based messaging on mobile phones.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2010.