As part of the government’s overall crackdown on crime in Israel’s Arab sector, two butcher shops in the cities of Nazareth and Kfar Qassem were raided, where a ton of beef and unattended lamb were found in “black” slaughter.
This was done as part of a joint operation conducted by the Central Unit for Enforcement and Investigations in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development together with forces of the Israel Police and the Tax Authority called Operation “Safe Track.”
“Black” meat or “Black” slaughter refers to meats that are slaughtered and processed without the approval of regulatory agencies and not in keeping with health and safety standards. The animals are also not cared for in accordance with laws that protect them against cruelty.
The meat itself is usually unfit for human consumption.
In Nazareth, about 300 kg (1,000 pounds) of beef brought from the Palestinian Authority was uncovered, along with 160 kg of mutton with an unknown origin. Another half ton of beef and unsupervised mutton was found at a meat shop in Kafr Qassem.
All of the meat was sent for destruction, and an investigation was opened against the butchers’ owners. The phenomenon of black slaughter, slaughter that is done illegally, has become a real health hazard in recent years.
These kinds of crimes are not new. Over the years, raids of markets throughout Israel have uncovered meat being sold that was smuggled into Israel from areas of the PA and even from animals such as donkeys and sold as beef.