With the approach of Qurban Bayram, also known as Eid al-Adha, sacrificial animals traveling from many parts of Türkiye have begun entering Istanbul. Starting from midnight, trucks and trailers loaded with these animals were individually inspected by teams from the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.
As Eid al-Adha nears, sacrificial animals coming from various regions of Türkiye have started arriving in Istanbul. The first animals were brought into the city starting at midnight, and the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry conducted inspections at the Live Animal Transport Control Point located in the Riva area on the Northern Marmara Highway.
The inspections were also attended by Suat Parıldar, director of the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry. Supported by gendarmerie and municipal police teams, veterinarians affiliated with the directorate carefully checked each truck and trailer carrying the animals. The teams examined the drivers' documents from outside the province and compared the animals' ear tag numbers with those on the paperwork. After the checks, the vehicles continued toward the livestock markets.
Parıldar said: "Today is May 22, the date we allow sacrificial animals to enter Istanbul. Our teams are currently inspecting the animals and vehicles arriving at the Riva Live Animal Road Control Point. There is no shortage of sacrificial animals either in Istanbul or across Türkiye. In fact, there is a surplus of animals. We primarily check the veterinary health reports of animals arriving on both the Anatolian and European sides."
Parıldar also noted that road control and inspection stations have been established at five points nationwide: "We are working hard to ensure that our citizens can access healthy animals to fulfill this important religious obligation. Together with our veterinarians, technical personnel, law enforcement, gendarmerie and municipal police, we conduct these services in good coordination."
"As shared with the public by our Minister Ibrahim Yumaklı, five veterinary road control and inspection stations have been set up in the country. Animals coming to our province from Anatolia must stop at one of these points. Here, veterinary health reports and transport permits are checked and according to the destination, visa procedures are carried out. Last year, approximately 68,000 large livestock and nearly 67,000 small livestock were transported to Istanbul," he added.
Parıldar continued: "During the Eid period, nearly 78,000 large livestock and 77,000-78,000 small livestock were used for sacrifice by our citizens. We expect approximately the same number this year. Last year, we especially worked hard to maintain the foot-and-mouth disease-free status with vaccination in Istanbul’s European side and Thrace by conducting road inspections. We inspected over 1,000 vehicles, over 8,000 large livestock and over 11,000 small livestock. We also penalized more than 120 vehicles that lacked the required veterinary health reports or transport permits while trying to cross into the European side or Thrace."
Parıldar emphasized the importance of the "Tarım Cebimde" ("Agriculture in My Pocket") mobile application before purchasing sacrificial animals: "I especially urge our citizens to use the 'Tarım Cebimde' application. It is very easy to use. If you enter the animal production section, there is a 'Tag Inquiry' button. When you select whether the animal you plan to sacrifice is small or large livestock and enter its ear tag number, you can easily check its age, breed, birth date, current status, gender and vaccination information."
"Our teams first check the destination on the veterinary health reports of animals in the trucks arriving here. Then, they verify the compatibility of the ear tags on the animals with those listed in the reports. Citizens can fulfill their sacrifice obligations with peace of mind. We continue to serve 24/7 for them. Under the leadership of our minister, we are committed to ensuring that this Eid al-Adha is carried out with health, safety and peace. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our citizens a happy upcoming Eid al-Adha," he said.
