Minister of Municipalities and Agriculture,
Ministerial Decision No. (1) of 1973
Regarding the System of Slaughtering and Distributing Meat at the Slaughterhouse (1973)
Having reviewed Law No. (1) of 1971 concerning the reorganization of the government apparatus, and the Local Orders Law of 1969, we have issued the following decision:
Article (1)
It is prohibited to slaughter animals intended for human consumption outside municipal slaughterhouses or in places other than those specified by the municipality department. An exception is made for the sacrificial slaughter during Eid al-Adha, where individuals may slaughter them in their homes, provided that their meat is not offered for sale.
Article (2)
Veterinary inspection shall be conducted on animals before they enter the slaughterhouse, and healthy ones shall be permitted for slaughter. Animals with undiagnosed diseases shall be placed in observation pens until the disease they are suffering from is diagnosed.
Article (3)
Animals that have entered the slaughterhouse for the purpose of slaughtering may not leave alive except with the permission of the responsible meat inspector.
Article (4)
Each type of animal must be slaughtered in the designated area. The animal shall be hung immediately after slaughter, and its resulting offal shall be placed underneath it. It shall not be released until it has been inspected by the responsible meat inspector.
Article (5)
Meat found to be infected with tapeworm disease shall be held in the refrigeration room for a period of no less than ten days at a temperature not exceeding minus ten degrees Celsius.
Article (6)
Meat of questionable fitness shall be held in the slaughterhouse's refrigeration room for a period of no less than seven days and shall not be released until its fitness for human consumption is confirmed by a written permit from the responsible meat inspector.
Article (7)
It is not permissible to slaughter lambs and calves less than one month old, nor is it permissible to slaughter unhealthy or emaciated animals whose meat is unfit for human consumption. The responsible meat inspector at the slaughterhouse may authorize the slaughter of lambs or calves suffering from an emergency condition if their meat is fit for human consumption.
As for animals suffering from serious diseases, even if non-contagious, they shall be slaughtered immediately, and the responsible meat inspector shall decide whether they must be destroyed or if another measure should be taken.
Article (8)
All meat offered for sale must be stamped with the official seals of the slaughterhouse, using distinctive colors and marks. It is strictly forbidden to offer for sale the meat of animals slaughtered outside the slaughterhouse, or those that have died from any disease, as well as the meat of miscarried fetuses.
Article (9)
Carcasses may not be transported in passenger vehicles or open vehicles exposed to dust or contamination.
Article (10)
A license for a meat transport vehicle shall not be granted unless it is lined on the inside with aluminum or plastic, in accordance with the model prepared by the Public Health Section of the Municipality Department.
Article (11)
All persons licensed to enter the slaughterhouse shall be subject to a medical examination under the conditions prescribed for examining workers in establishments involved in the manufacturing and handling of foodstuffs. An exception is made for persons authorized to enter the slaughterhouse by the Public Health Section of the Municipality Department or by the responsible meat inspector at the slaughterhouse.
Article (12)
Butchers and their workers are prohibited from carrying knives, sharpeners, and other tools intended for cutting meat outside their shops.
Article (13)
All sellers of fresh, locally slaughtered meat are prohibited from selling frozen meat in their shops.
Article (14)
Imported meat, whether fresh or frozen, and its by-products such as kidneys, liver, marrow, neck, etc., must be accompanied by a health certificate from its country of origin, proving that a veterinarian supervised its slaughter and inspection before export. The said health certificates must specify the following data:
a. Type of meat, number of packages, country of export, date of inspection, name of the exporter, and port of export.
b. Name of the consignee and port of arrival.
c. A declaration from the competent authority stating that it has inspected the animals from which the meat or its by-products were sourced and that they are free from human or animal diseases.
As for imported frozen meat, the health certificate must, in addition to the aforementioned data, state that this meat was stored before export at a temperature below zero degrees Celsius and that each piece was wrapped in clean gauze.
Article (15)
Imported meat and its by-products shall be inspected at the municipal slaughterhouse, and any that is not accompanied by a health certificate shall be confiscated, even if it is sound and free from spoilage.
Imported meat or its by-products that are proven to be unfit for human consumption shall also be confiscated and destroyed, even if accompanied by health certificates from their country of origin.
Article (16)
Anyone who is late in collecting their carcasses held in the slaughterhouse's refrigeration rooms by forty-eight hours after the prescribed holding period will be notified to come and collect them. If they are then late in coming to collect them for a period of forty-eight hours after receiving the notification, a fine of twenty dirhams for each head of sheep and fifty dirhams for each head of cattle or camel will be imposed for each day of delay. If this delay continues for a week, the slaughterhouse has the right to sell the held carcasses and deduct the value of the fine and administrative expenses from the sale proceeds.
Article (17)
Without prejudice to any more severe penalty stipulated in another law, anyone who offers for sale meat stamped with counterfeit seals that they have imprinted on the carcasses in any way to suggest that the carcasses are sound and were slaughtered at the slaughterhouse shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months and a fine of not less than five hundred dirhams and not exceeding one thousand dirhams, or one of these two penalties. In addition, the court shall order the confiscation of this displayed meat, the closure of the establishment, and the prohibition of the offender from practicing the profession in the future.
Article (18)
Anyone who violates any other provision of this decision shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months and a fine of not less than one hundred and fifty dirhams and not exceeding one thousand dirhams, or one of these two penalties, in addition to the confiscation of the seized carcasses and tools. The court may also order the closure of the establishment for a period it specifies. The penalty shall be doubled for a second offense, and the offender shall be prohibited from practicing the profession for a third offense.
Article (19)
Police officers and authorized municipal employees have the right to enter butcher shops and meat premises to verify the implementation of the provisions of this decision and to draw up the necessary reports.
Article (20)
This decision shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into effect one month after the date of its publication.
Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan
Minister of Municipalities and Agriculture
Number: B A 25/1/32/
Date: 2/8/2004 AD