Tunisia refuses to cancel Eid sacrifice amid drought

Tunisia’s highest religious authority has said the Eid al Adha sacrifice will still go ahead this year, despite concerns around livestock shortages.

According to The New Arab on March 13th, due to Tunisia’s record-high meat prices,6 year drought, and dwindling livestock supply, many questioned whether the country would ask citizens to refrain from participating in the annual Eid al-Adha sacrifice.

The debate began when the National Chamber of Butchers asked Diwan al-Iftaa whether this year’s sacrifices should go ahead, due to drought and shrinking livestock numbers.

Tunisia’s Mufti, Sheikh Hichem Ben Mahmoud said: “The sacrifice is one of God’s sacred rites”, maintaining that although it is not an obligation, it is a highly important religious tradition.

Eid al-Adha is in early June, and usually observes an annual “feast of sacrifice” where Muslims kill sheep to honour a passage in the Quran where the prophet Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son in an act of obedience to God, who intervened by replacing the child with a sheep.

Over the past few years, high prices and a dwindling livestock supply has meant many Tunisians have not been able to partake in the sacrifice.

During 2024, the prices of sheep for Eid al-Adha in Tunisia ranged from $250 to $650, a 50 percent increase from the year before.

Due to this, the Tunisian government has increased imports of chilled meat, bringing in shipments of Romanian lamb and French beef.

The situation has been worsened by ongoing drought in the region, which is now in its sixth year consecutively.

Water scarcity has greatly impacted agriculture, as farmers are forced to scale back or abandon livestock breeding. Fewer animals and rising feed costs means prices have skyrocketed.

Thus far, Morocco is the only North African country to ask that people skip the ritual this June.

The New Arab, Maghrebi, Reuters