City of Alexandria approves live poultry butcher shop

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - The Alexandria City Council voted Tuesday evening to approve the opening of a live poultry butcher shop just west of Old Town.

Saba Live Poultry, owned by Abdulsalem Mused, applied for a special permit inside a building on Colvin Street that would allow them to keep live chickens in their shop around the clock to be slaughtered daily at customer order. The halal poultry market would prepare the chickens in a way governed by Islamic law.

As word spread of the company's plan along with the details in the special use permit, controversy grew and businesses along Colvin St. -- which include as many as four pet sitting, walking and training shops, as well as restaurants and food shops -- have come out against the plan.

The most common complaint FOX 5 heard was concerning the potential smell and noise from so many live chickens.

"We don't like the fact that from everything we have read, everything we have seen already is that they are unable to fully contain the smells and the noise and so that is going to impact the quality of life, which is what the city is supposed to look at when they are looking to approve a special use permit," Sandy Modell with Wholistic Hound Academy said.

Mayor Justin Wilson said he was in favor of the business plan and the city council voted six to two in favor of the permit.