Senegal unrest creates difficulties for sheep farmers

Sewekhaye, Senegal (AFP):

An outbreak of violence in Senegal is having a ricochet effect on the country’s sheep herders ahead of the Muslim festival of sacrifice- the Eid al Adha.

The deadliest clashes in years broke out in the capital Dakar on June 1 after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to two years’ jail, casting a pall over his bid to contest the 2024 presidential elections.

For sheep farmers, the crisis has happened at the worst possible moment.

For months, they have been gearing up for ‘Tabaski’, the name given to the Islamic Eid al Adha. On this occasion, Muslims traditionally sacrifice a sheep for commemorating the sacrifice of Isma’il (Ishmael) by his father Ibrahim (Abraham) and for feeding the poor. This year’s festival falls next Thursday.

Near Sewekhaye, a livestock town around 100 kilometres from Dakar, Cheikh Ba looked at his flock roaming in a sun-scorched valley dotted with little white-sand dunes.

The 52-year-old is among many herders who had halted there, too fearful to enter the capital.

“Our original destination was Dakar, but we’re afraid of losing our animals there because of the protests,” said Ba.

Sixteen people died in the three-day unrest, according to the authorities. Amnesty International puts the toll at 23.

“Sheep traders were attacked in Keur Massar,” a suburb of Dakar, said Ismail Sow, an official with the national sheep breeders’ association.

“We have advised farmers to hole up in waiting areas in the countryside and avoid the cities.”

In Sewekhaye, seeking shade under acacia trees, straw tents or tarpaulins, herders watched as their animals greedily devoured food from feeders and took water from plastic troughs.

The bush around the town is dotted with the bodies of rotting sheep, many of which have died from stress or dehydration, said El Hadji Diallo Diop, a vet.

Mohamed El Moctar, a Mauritanian herder in his 50s, said he had set off from Aioun, in southeastern Mauritania, on June 9.

He first crossed conflict-torn Mali, entered Senegal and then chose to stay in Sewekhaye.

“I’ve lost more than 100 out of 200 sheep since I’ve arrived,” he said.

Shortfall 

The secretary general of the livestock ministry, Ousmane Mbaye, on the other hand, said that there was a “deficit” of sheep for Dakar as the festival loomed.

Its census says, quite precisely, that Senegal currently has 559,215 animals — more than 18,000 more than this time last year.

But the supply problems caused by the clashes have caused a particular bottleneck for Dakar, where there is deficit of some 40,000 sheep compared with 2022.

The shortfall has caused prices to surge, leading to a wave of grumbling and official promises to “progressively reduce the gap” before festival day.