Morocco King Mohammed you call the nation to avoid slaughtering sheep during the Eid al-Adha
King Mohammed you asked Moroccans to refrain from performing a Muslim rite of slaughter of sheep during the Eid Al-Adha this year because of a sharp fall in a flock in the country.
The lack is to blame for seven years drought.
Eid al-Adha, who falls in June, marks the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim or Abraham to sacrifice his son at the commandment of God.
Muslims mark the event by slaughtering sheep or other animals, and meat is divided among families and donates to the poor.
But the herds in Morocco decreased by 38% in the decade due to dry pastures, according to official data.
Meat prices are rocketed and 100,000 sheep are imported from Australia.
The performance of the rites “in these difficult circumstances will cause significant damage to the great segments of our people, especially those with limited revenues,” said King Mohammed VI in a speech read on Wednesday by religious jobs on national television.
His father, Hassan II, sent the same appeal in 1966, when Morocco also suffered a long drought.
Explaining the challenge in the recent interview, the Morocco Minister of Agriculture, Ahmed Bouari, said that “the need for water insurance for priority sectors, such as driving and industry,” meant that agriculture was the worst hit “, and most irrigation areas are subject to strict regulations and water rating.”
Imports and VAT on livestock, sheep, camels and red meat were recently abolished to stabilize prices in Morocco.
