… one of the signs of the Muslim End of Days has been realised. Over-zealous bureaucrats in Egypt have mandated the wholesale slaughter of the country’s pigs to try and avoid outbreaks of Swine Flu. Of course, according to Prophecy this was supposed to be accomplished by Jesus, and accompanied by the smashing of the crosses. Still, you get the idea.
In their defence, Egypt has been struggling with Avian Flu for the last few years, so it isn’t unexpected they might be a bit worried about the latest epidemic. More cynical observers, however, have noted that the owners of the nation’s pigs are almost exclusively Coptic Christians, and suggested that President Mubarak commissioned the cull due to pressure from Islamist opposition party the Muslim Brotherhood, who completely oppose the keeping of haram pigs on “Islamic land”.
The story reached the outside world and our own fair site when video of the culls hit YouTube, and the methods employed have raised the ire of animal welfare activists. I’d rather not provide a link to the rather graphic imagery of the footage, but you’re all web-savvy kids: I’m sure you can find it yourselves. Muslim practice requires that slaughtered animals have their throats slit in an effort to minimise their suffering, but witnesses claim this is only carried out on the boars, while sows and piglets are stabbed or beaten to death. One method purportedly involved spraying them with a chemical that took 30-40 minutes to kill them.
apud AFP ‘Pig cull YouTube video sparks outrage‘, Sydney Morning Herald (18/5/09)
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