Doha authorities seize five tonnes of meat

Manama: Doha Municipality law enforcement officers have confiscated five tonnes of Australian meat "unfit for human consumption."

The confiscation followed an inspection of a large quantity of Australian meat at Doha's automatic slaughterhouse.

The slaughterhouse exclusively handles imported Australian sheep and has a capacity to slaughter thousands of sheep every day, Mohammad Lahdan Al Ka'abi, deputy director of the Hygiene Affairs Department said. Qatar uses two other slaughterhouses for handling livestock, sheep and goats, imported from Arab countries, and for larger animals.

Slaughtering animals outside these abattoirs is illegal and considered a danger to health.

Every slaughterhouse has a veterinary unit. After the slaughtering, each animal is medically examined and approved for consumption, said Al Ka'abi.

However, Al Ka'abi said the sheep may be in good health on arrival in Qatar, but may develop problems later due to climatic changes.