ISMIRA LUTFIA TISNADIBRATA August 23, 2018 02:11 30 Jakarta has banned the trade and slaughter of livestock in 35 mosques in the area, in anticipation of Eid and the seasonal trade coinciding with the games The rules of the games state that the area within a kilometer radius of the venue should be an equine disease-free zone JAKARTA: Eid was quiet for Ferry Mardani, a seasonal goat and cattle trader who normally sets up a temporary barn in the front yard of Pulo Asem Grand Mosque in East Jakarta, a week before Eid. Most years he sells 90 goats and six cows to local Muslims who want to donate their sacrificial animals to the mosque and have them slaughtered there. By the end of the season, he can reap at least 25 million rupiah ($1.7 million) from the trade. “This year, the mosque didn’t accept sacrificial animals or slaughter them. We are complying with the governor’s instruction to have this area free from any cattle because our location is within a kilometer radius of the equestrian park,” Mardani told Arab News. The Jakarta International Equestrian Park in the Pulomas district is hosting three equestrian competitions for the 18th Asian Games. The rules of the games state that the area within a kilometer radius of the venue should be an equine disease-free zone. Last October the then-governor of Jakarta, Djarot Saiful Hidayat, issued an order banning the trade and slaughter of livestock in 35 mosques in the area, in anticipation of Eid and the seasonal trade coinciding with the games, which run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2. Ani Suyani, who lives in Pulomas, donated her sacrificial cow to Al Mujahidin Mosque, which is in the Kayu Putih neighborhood near the park. “The mosque still received donations, they arranged to buy the cattle and have them slaughtered directly in Pulo Gebang abattoir. The mosque’s qurban committee will pack the meat in small bags and take them back here for distribution in the afternoon,” she told Arab News. Purnomo, a caretaker of Al Hurriyah Mosque in Pulo Asem neighborhood, said the mosque still received donations of animals but they slaughtered the animals – seven goats and a cow — in Al Watsiyah Mosque, outside the restricted zone. “Usually we receive up to 30 goats every year and we slaughter them here. But this year some congregation members decided to donate their sacrificial animals elsewhere because of the restriction,” Purnomo told Arab News. “We understand this restriction is to support the Asian Games. It’s no problem that we can’t sell and slaughter the animals here at the mosque this year,” he said. “The Asian Games is probably a once in a lifetime event for most of us here. I wasn’t even born the last time we had it in Jakarta,” Purnomo said. The last time Jakarta hosted the games was in 1962. This year Jakarta is co-host of the games, alongside Palembang, the provincial capital of South Sumatra. This is the first time that the games have been co-hosted.