Prices Jump for Sacrificial Animals

(Karachi, Pakistan) The market for sacrificial animals for the Eid-ul-Adha celebration has been jolted by 100 percent price increases this year and the blame is attributed to inflation, tax increases, payments to city government, payments to vets, payments to police and shortages due to smuggling of animals to neighboring countries.

According to livestock association official Lateef Qureshi: (Dollar prices reflect today's exchange rate.)

The price of a healthy medium sized goat will not be less than Rs 15,000 [$182], while a medium weight heifer will cost around Rs 40,000 [$486] this year.

"Last year prices of a goat ranged from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 [$97 - $122] and a heifer was for Rs 20,000-30,000 [$243 - $365]."

It's estimated that one million cows, 1.5 million goats, and 10,000 camels will be needed for sacrifices to Allah this year.

Incidentally, if the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) really believe the animal rights philosophy they persistently spew, they should be protesting the practice of animal sacrifice by Muslims. Just imagine the impact of PETA's animal rights message after they put naked women in cages, a frequent PETA stunt, on a street in a busy Pakistani city.