Some residents of Dutse in Jigawa have decried the rising price of rams and other sacrificial animals for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
They said the trend would not allow them to sacrifice animals for the festivities.
A check by journalists at Dutse cattle market showed that prices had shot up by over 300 per cent compared to the previous season.
A big-sized ram was sold for N500,000, and a well-bred bull for N1 million, as against previous prices of N130,000 and N400,000, respectively.
Traders at the market attributed the price hike to the high cost of animal feed.
Musa Ayuba said animal rearing was no longer easy due to the rising cost of feed and medication.
“Animal feed is extremely expensive, resulting in soaring livestock prices,” he said.
Abubakar Jamilu, a resident, lamented that most families could not afford to slaughter rams for the season due to exorbitant prices.
“Animals are costly for sacrifice now. Many people cannot afford it like before,” he said.
Corroborating the earlier opinion, Umar Abdu described the trend as unbearable and challenging, adding that most families had resorted to alternative measures to cope with the situation.
Also, Nuhu Iliyasu said that he would contribute money with others to buy a cow and share the meat.
He said that contribution was the only option for low-income earners to enable them to slaughter animals for the season.
“I cannot afford to buy a ram. I joined a contribution group to buy a cow and share the meat,” he said.
On his part, Ishak Ibrahim said that he would buy chickens to celebrate the season with his family in a good mood.NAN
