The queues at livestock markets and abattoirs during Eid Al Adha lead to hours of waiting for residents, especially during peak hours. A few residents who visited livestock markets during the first two days of Eid said they spent hours moving between waiting tents, token counters and meat collection areas during peak rush periods.
Shafeed Guttigar, a resident of Al Tawoon who visited the Sharjah market with his family, said the waiting became exhausting after a few hours. “The difficult part was not the waiting itself, but not knowing how much longer was left,” he said.
Another resident at the Al Qusais market said the crowd became much heavier after 8am, especially near meat cutting and collection sections.
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However, while some residents struggled with long waiting periods, others managed to complete the process much faster by planning ahead and coordinating with traders. Khaleej Times spoke to residents and traders at the Sharjah and Al Qusais livestock markets to understand what actually helped save time during the Eid rush.
1. Buy the goat a day earlier
Several residents said that purchasing the sacrificial animal a day before Eid made a major difference.
“We bought the goat a day earlier and requested the trader, whom we had been purchasing from for years, and he helped us get a token,” said Aleem Chichaba, a resident of Al Qusais in Dubai, who wanted to avoid spending long hours waiting.
Aleem said he selected the goat earlier, left it with the trader overnight and reached the market before sunrise the next morning. “When the process started, we were already among the first people there,” he said.
Traders also said that many residents are unaware they can purchase the animal earlier and leave it at the traders shop until their preferred time.
2. Reach before sunrise
According to traders, the crowd becomes significantly heavier after sunrise and continues through the afternoon. “People who come very early usually finish much faster,” said Qasim, a trader at Al Qusais Market.
Residents who reached the market after sunrise said most of the waiting happened during meat cutting and collection stages.
3. Keep the cutting request simple
Another resident said he realised detailed cutting requests can increase waiting time.
“The more detailed the request, the more time it takes. We just asked for a few large cuts.”
Workers at the abattoir said that cutting is usually the slowest stage of the process, especially when residents request many smaller pieces for distribution.
4. Don’t wait at the market the whole time
A resident visiting the Sharjah market with his family said they avoided standing at the abattoir continuously after receiving the token.
“We left after confirming the process and returned later when it was almost time for collection,” he said. Some residents said they visited nearby relatives or rested in nearby parks or lunch at the restaurant, instead of spending hours inside crowded waiting sections.
5. Coordinate with traders in advance
Traders said residents who communicate with them in advance usually experience a smoother process during Eid.
Shahvez Khan, a trader at the Sharjah Livestock Market said, “Many regular customers coordinate timings beforehand, especially those purchasing from the same traders every year.”
6. Take the goat to a farmhouse
Another resident shared a completely different approach. Instead of taking the animal to a market abattoir, he transported the goat to a friend’s farmhouse outside the city and completed the sacrifice there.
“It was much calmer and less crowded,” he said.
Source: Khaleej Times