Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - This year, an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Indonesia poses a threat to the tradition of animal s...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - This year, an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Indonesia poses a threat to the tradition of animal sacrifice to mark Eid al-Adha, and livestock sellers in the world's largest Muslim-majority country are lamenting low sales.
One of the major holidays in the Islamic calendar is Eid Al-Adha, also known as the "Festival of Sacrifice," which this year comes on July 9.
Around busy thoroughfares in the Indonesian capital and throughout the nation, temporary enclosures for cows and goats usually develop in the days before celebrations. Devout Muslims typically butcher the animals and provide the meat to the underprivileged.
However, sales this year have been considerably affected by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD), a contagious viral disease that affects cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs.
Jamal Lulay, a merchant in West Java who has only sold 50 cows this year, said, "This year is a lost year for us."
"We could sell up to 330 cows before to COVID, but only about 170 during COVID. Sales have decreased significantly this year."
A statewide cattle vaccination programme had been started in Indonesia in an effort to contain the outbreak, which had started in May.
According to government statistics, more than 3,400 animals have been slaughtered and more than 317,000 animals have been infected across 21 provinces in Indonesia, mostly on the two most populous islands, Java and Sumatra.
Despite the fact that the illness can be fatal to animals, it is not typically seen as a hazard to human health.
According to Muhammad Husein al Bana, a cattle merchant in Jakarta, "people's zeal for sacrifice has not reduced, but they are more concerned about the health (of the animals)".
The nation of Southeast Asia had been free of FMD since 1986, a fact that the World Organization for Animal Health acknowledged in 1990. That status lasted until this past May.
Iskandar Saputra, a consumer from Jakarta who was still prepared to take the chance, remarked, "Ultimately, it is the consumer's decision."
"I believe that the cows sold here are healthy and secure."
