Government Clarifies Ban on Dairy Cow Slaughter Amid Supply Concerns

The objective of this measure to ban the slaughter of calves under four years old is to preserve these breeds to ensure the supply of the local market with milk and dairy products, especially with the recent crisis that has emerged, indicates a letter from the Ministry of Agriculture addressed to the regional directors.

This decision only concerns the known dairy breeds (Holstein and Montbéliarde), the document specifies. And it adds that the ban on slaughtering female dairy cows under four years old does not mean that red meat is banned from the market.

It should be recalled that the day after the announcement of this measure, the union representatives of the red meat sector of the urban slaughterhouses of Casablanca expressed their discontent, describing it as "unfair". According to them, this would prevent the slaughter of female cows under four years old, compromising the food security of Moroccans.

This decision, according to the unions, "has provoked an overwhelming anger, the consequences of which announce reactions that will contribute to the crisis in the national sectoral market," noting that it will cause "material and moral damage to the professionals in the red meat sector."