Morocco bans cattle imports from UK and Northern Ireland 

The Customs and Excise Administration in Morocco has decided to stop imports of cattle from the UK after the discovery of some disease animals, 24 Hours has reported. The measure came into force on 1 January and will last a year.

The report added that this decision was made by the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture, due to the health status of livestock in the UK and Northern Ireland.

In a related matter, a controversy erupted in Morocco in November after a number of members of the House of Representatives called for the reversal of a government decision banning the sale of cows for slaughter, in order to preserve dairy cows. This was in light of the crisis that the sector is experiencing due to drought.

The MPs from the various parties said that the sudden decision was a great shock to farmers, especially those with smallholdings who found themselves in difficult conditions after months of fattening the cows at great cost, given the high price of feed, said Morocco’s Al-Youm 24 website.

The MPs warned that the decision to ban the sale of fattened cows will lead to the spread of secret slaughtering across the Kingdom.

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