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Herding 145,000 sheep and goats onto a livestock carrier in the port of Berbera, Somaliland for shipment to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, where 2.6 million animals will be ritually sacrificed on the third day of the Hajj pilgrimage. Due to the extreme heat (temperatures ranged from 95°F to 108°F that day), the animals were only loaded at night and early morning for the 2-day voyage to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. According to Islamic tradition, all pilgrims to Mecca are required to sacrifice a ruminant on the third day of the Hajj, and sheep and goats are the least expensive way to fulfill this religious requirement, with at least 2/3 of the meat donated to the poor. Somaliland is the largest exporter of livestock in the region and shipped 1.6 million sheep and goats for this year’s Hajj. Somaliland is a self-declared democratic republic, which is not recognized by any UN member state and is one of the world’s poorest regions. Live animal exports are 85% of Somaliland’s export earnings and 30% of its GDP, and indirectly employ 70% of the population.

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Herding 145,000 sheep and goats onto a livestock carrier in the port of Berbera, Somaliland for shipment to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, where 2.6 million animals will be ritually sacrificed on the third day of the Hajj pilgrimage. Due to the extreme heat (temperatures ranged from 95°F to 108°F that day), the animals were only loaded at night and early morning for the 2-day voyage to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. According to Islamic tradition, all pilgrims to Mecca are required to sacrifice a ruminant on the third day of the Hajj, and sheep and goats are the least expensive way to fulfill this religious requirement, with at least 2/3 of the meat donated to the poor. Somaliland is the largest exporter of livestock in the region and shipped 1.6 million sheep and goats for this year’s Hajj. Somaliland is a self-declared democratic republic, which is not recognized by any UN member state and is one of the world’s poorest regions. Live animal exports are 85% of Somaliland’s export earnings and 30% of its GDP, and indirectly employ 70% of the population.

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