“The sacrifice is one of God’s sacred rites”, Tunisia’s Mufti, Sheikh Hichem Ben Mahmoud, declared in a fatwa on Tuesday. [Getty]
As Tunisia grapples with record-high meat prices and a dwindling livestock supply, many wondered whether the country would follow Morocco‘s lead and suspend the Eid al-Adha sacrifice. However, Tunisia’s top religious authority has firmly shut down the idea, declaring the ritual a sacred practice that cannot be cancelled.
The debate erupted after the National Chamber of Butchers asked Diwan al-Iftaa whether this year’s sacrifices should be scrapped to ease financial strain and protect Tunisia’s shrinking herds.
The response was swift. “The sacrifice is one of God’s sacred rites”, Tunisia’s Mufti, Sheikh Hichem Ben Mahmoud, declared in a fatwa on Tuesday. While not an obligation, he stressed, it remains a deeply rooted religious tradition.
Eid al-Adha, which takes place this year in early June, is an annual “feast of sacrifice” in which Muslims slaughter sheep to honour a passage in the Quran where the prophet Ibrahim prepared to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God—who intervened and replaced the child with a sheep.
For years, Eid al-Adha in Tunisia has been marked by the familiar sights and sounds of livestock markets buzzing with families selecting their sacrificial sheep, a ritual symbolising devotion and generosity.
However, in the last years, soaring prices and a shrinking livestock supply have fuelled debates over whether the tradition is slipping out of reach for many Tunisians.
In 2024, the prices of sheep for Eid al-Adha in Tunisian cities ranged from $250 to $650, marking a 50 percent increase compared to 2023. Minimum wage in Tunisia is less than $200.
Now, ahead of the celebration, sheep prices have surged again, ranging between 37.5 and 38.2 Tunisian dinars ($12–$12.50) per kilogram, with beef not far behind.
To ease the burden, the government has increased imports of chilled meat, bringing in shipments of Romanian lamb and French beef.
The crisis is deepened by the Maghreb’s ongoing drought, now in its sixth consecutive year.
Water scarcity has devastated agriculture, forcing many farmers to scale back or abandon livestock breeding altogether. With fewer animals and rising feed costs, prices have skyrocketed, leaving both farmers and consumers in a bind.
Calls to suspend the Eid sacrifice have become more frequent in recent years as Tunisia’s economic and climate troubles mount.
Some have even suggested that Tunisian president Kais Saied offer a single sacrifice on behalf of the nation—an idea that never gained traction.
Meanwhile, Algeria, facing similar challenges, has opted to import a staggering one million sheep to stabilise prices rather than consider cancellation.
So far, Morocco is the only North African country to encourage citizens to forgo the ritual this year.
The decision came directly from King Mohammed VI—both the nation’s monarch and its highest religious authority—in an effort to protect the country’s fragile livestock population.
It’s a rare intervention, but not unprecedented. His father, the late King Hassan II, suspended Eid sacrifices three times during his reign, during wartime, drought and when the IMF mandated Morocco end food subsidies.
