As temperatures rise ahead of Eid al-Adha, specialists are urging Moroccans to take precautions when transporting and keeping sheep, stressing the importance of ventilation, shade and hydration.
As Eid al-Adha approaches, livestock markets across Morocco are gradually filling up again, with prices ranging from around 50 dirhams per kilogram for some goat breeds to as much as 75 dirhams per kilogram for larger sheep, while average livestock prices in some regions stand between 2,000 and 3,100 dirhams.
In 1963, 1981 and 1996, the late king Hassan II ordered Moroccans to call off Eid al-Adha. Not celebrating the annual feast was due to several reasons such as the economic crisis, drought and the state of the herd; however, these explanations convinced Moroccans only twice.
Farmers, for whom cattle breeding is a major source of income, have denounced the drop in the prices of cattle, sheep and goats for Eid Al Adha, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the rainfall deficit.
After a first postponed hearing, the judge of the Benslimane court of first instance sentenced, on Monday, Michel S., who appeared in a video deliberately crushing a flock of sheep to a one-month sentence.