FMD casts shadow over Eid festival in Indonesia
JAKARTA, July 6 (Reuters) – An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Indonesia threatens to disrupt a ritual of slaughtering animals to mark the festival of Eid al-Adha this year, with livestock traders in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation bemoaning low sales.
Eid Al-Adha, known as the “Festival of Sacrifice”, is one of the main holidays in the Islamic calendar and this year falls on July 9.
In the lead up to celebrations, makeshift pens housing cows and goats typically appear around busy thoroughfares in the Indonesian capital and around the country. Traditionally, devout Muslims slaughter the animals and share the meat with the poor.
But this year the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD), a contagious viral disease that impacts cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, has significantly dampened sales.
“This year is a year of loss for us,” said Jamal Lulay, a trader in West Java who has only sold 50 cows this year.
“Before COVID, we could sell up to 330 cows, and during COVID it was around 170… This year sales have dropped drastically.”
By Johan Purnomo / Reuters
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