The King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, called on his citizens not to slaughter the sacrifices of the holiday this year due to the great decline in the numbers of livestock due to a severe drought witnessed by the Kingdom for the seventh year in a row.
“We call on our dear people not to make the Eid sacrifice for this year,” the king said in a letter read by the Minister of Religious Affairs Ahmed Al -Tawfiq on official television.
He added that the reason for this is “the climate and economic challenges facing our country that led to a significant decline in the numbers of livestock.”
The king also said that “taking into account that Eid al -Adha is a certain year with the ability, because doing it in these difficult circumstances will harm large categories of our people, especially those with low incomes.”
The drought wave hit Morocco for the seventh year in a row, in a 38% decline in the numbers of livestock, with a 53% rain deficit compared to the last average of the last 30 years, according to the Minister of Agriculture, Ahmed Al -Bouari in mid -February.
This is the worst drought course in the Kingdom since the early eighties.
The scarcity of rain caused a deficiency of pastures of livestock and low meat production, which led to high prices in the local market and increased livestock, live sheep and red meat.
The country recently signed a deal to import up to 100,000 heads of sheep from Australia, and in the budget of 2025, Morocco suspended import fees and value -added tax on livestock, sheep, camels and red meat to maintain price stability in the local market.
And the late King of Morocco, Hassan II, preceded the sacrifice of sacrifices in the years 1963, 1981 and 1996 for similar reasons.
(Tagstotranslate) News (T) Morocco (T) Arabic