Sheep giveaways outside store
Photo: Effi Sharir
Complimentary sheep with purchase
Electric appliance chain store offers special deal in honor of Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha
Galilee resident visiting Tiberias' Big shopping mall on Sunday, were surprised to see shoppers loading their cars with plasma screens in the front seat – and live sheep in the trunk.
"We decided to offer a special deal ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday; those who purchase electric appliances for a total sum of over NIS 7,890 (about $2,150) get a live sheep," said Eyal Ben Eliezer, the owner and general manager of the wholesale electric appliance chain store.
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In preparation for the unusual promotion, the store purchased 50 sheep and placed them in a 64 square meter (about 688 square ft.) pen, constructed in the shopping mall's yard especially for the event.
On the first day of the sale, six sheep got to go home with their lucky new owners.
"I made a purchase of over NIS 8,000 in the electricity store, and was surprised to find out that I won a 63 kg (138 lbs) sheep. I thought someone was playing a joke on me at first," said Amar Dagash of Maghar village, while loading his reward into the car.
"It is a special gift for our holiday, and it saved me thousands of shekels. Now our entire family is on its way to the store," he said excitedly.
Despite the happy costumers, the uncommon sale hit a bumpy start when Tiberias' municipal veterinarian was called to the scene and discovered that the livestock was held in sub-standard conditions.
"I found nine lambs in a closed and fenced-off area, without water, and with a faulty permit," explained Dr. Florina Peleg.
"I contacted the wildlife supervision department, and they decided to transfer the animals somewhere else. We instructed the store to stop giving out the sheep because it was done illegally and without a permit," she added.
The store owners stated in response, "To the request of the municipal veterinarian, we stopped handing out the sheep in the store vicinity. We will deliver the sheep directly to the costumers' houses with a veterinarian permit."
Goel Beno contributed to this report
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