Brussels Sees Decline in Illegal Sheep Slaughter During Eid Al-Adha Festival

Last weekend, Muslims in Brussels, like elsewhere, celebrated the Eid Al-Adha festival. In the Brussels region, the sacrifice of the Eid sheep by individuals is prohibited. They must refer to slaughterhouses for cleanliness reasons. Often the day after this festival, garbage bags with sheep carcasses are found on the sidewalks, in the streets, proof that some families continue to ignore the bans on home slaughter.

But this year, the municipal and regional cleaning services were pleasantly surprised by the rarity of these carcasses that often litter the streets, said Bruxelles Propreté and some municipal authorities. According to Étienne Cornesse, spokesperson for the regional agency Bruxelles Propreté, 112 carcasses were found on Sunday and Monday: "We realize that home sacrifice is less and less practiced by the faithful. The figures are decreasing over the years," he said.

In the municipalities, the sight is also no longer the same. For example, in Schaerbeek, only five carcasses were found on the sidewalks, about twenty in Anderlecht and 38 in Molenbeek. Encouraging figures as they are down sharply compared to 2021. For some, the departure on vacation of many members of the Muslim community could explain this decline.

With the reopening of borders and the resumption of flights, many believers like those of the Moroccan community have decided to return to Morocco to celebrate with their loved ones through the Marhaba 2022 operation which was launched at the beginning of June. But the good progress of the awareness campaign carried out with Muslims by the municipal and regional cleaning services should also be emphasized.