Consider once again what we are told at Daniel 9:24-27 (Zunz):

“Seventy (year-) weeks have been appointed over you people and over your holy city, to restrain the apostasy and to make an end of sin, and to atone for the error, and to bring everlasting salvation.

Notice that this period of time is said to be “seventy (year-) weeks.” The Hebrew expression used here literally means “seventy weeks,” or “seventy heptads.” However, it has generally been understood by Jewish scholars that each week is not seven days long but, rather, seven years long. Accordingly, Rabbi Leopold Zunz rendered the Hebrew as “seventy (year-) weeks” in the translation noted above. (See also Moffatt’s translation rendering, “weeks of years.”) Thus, the entire period of “seventy weeks” runs 490 years.

As the prophecy had also indicated that the Messiah’s death would provide true atonement for sin, once the Messiah died, any animal sacrifices at the temple would be meaningless.