Every Eid the same tricks come round, and every Eid somebody pays for weight that walks off overnight.
The ones people warn about:
- Salt and water. The animal is fed heavy salt then all the water it wants just before sale. It looks full and heavy, the belly feels tight and sloshy, and by morning it is a smaller animal.
- Spray paint. White patches painted on to imitate a premium breed. The colour is too even, and it does not sit right at the edges of the hair.
- Teeth. Filed or misrepresented.
- Feeding the day of sale to fill the gut.
- Hiding a limp by keeping the animal standing still, or walking it only on soft ground.
- A borrowed animal shown alongside to make the one for sale look like part of a good lot.
What else have you seen? And more usefully -- how do you test for these on the spot without insulting a seller who is honest? Anyone who buys every year, please post your routine.