All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
Charities delegated to slaughter Udhiyah (Eid sacrificial animal) and distribute its meat on behalf of the person offering it should preserve its meat against spoilage or theft and the like. This is because these charities act as agents. In fact, an agent is trustworthy, whether he receives wages for what he does or offers his services on voluntary basis.
In addition, if the meat of the Udhiyah goes bad after the slaughtering-be that during the packing, shipping or storing-due to negligence of the employee in charge of this process or that of other parties that the charity had contracted with-such as shipping companies-then the negligent party should compensate for the value of the Udhiyah. Moreover, it isn`t permissible to compensate for that from the other donations made to the charity.
However, if there was no negligence on part of any of the parties in charge of preserving and storing the meat of the Udh-hiyah, but the meat went bad for compelling reasons, then, in this case, no compensation is due.
For more details, kindly check {Moghni Al-Mohtajj, Vol.3:Page 254} and {Khash-shaf Al-Khina`, Vol.3:Page 13}.
In conclusion, the charity is required to exert every necessary effort to preserve the meat of the Udh-hiyah; however, if the meat went bad due to negligence and misconduct, then the value of the Udh-hiyah must be compensated for, and this compensation must be distributed amongst the poor. However, if none of the parties in charge was responsible for the spoilage of the meat, then, in this case, no compensation is due. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
