Livestock Trader Entrepreneurs among Urban Bedouin in the Negev Desert

Abstract

<jats:p> There are more than 150,000 Bedouin in the Negev Desert. Traditionally they were nomadic pastoralists relying on camels, sheep and goats for their livelihood; today about half the population lives in urban communities. Most urban Bedouin men have entered the wage labour market and have abandoned raising livestock. Nonetheless, of close to 1,300 registered flocks, about 15% are owned by urban households, and the Ministry of Agriculture estimates that the figure should be close to 50%. In Tel Sheva, a Bedouin town of 14,000 inhabitants, there are 17 registered flocks and about 15% of the households maintain sheep and/or goats. In addition, 111 livestock trader entrepreneurs are active, dealing mainly with sheep and, to a lesser extent, goats and cattle. Sheep and goats are bought mainly from Bedouin, while cattle are bought mainly from Jewish settlements. There are 16 large livestock traders, all men, who trade throughout the year; for seven of them, livestock trading is their main occupation. These traders generally do not attend weekly markets but do their transactions from home. Thirteen of these traders deal mainly with sheep and goats and can handle upwards of 200 head at a time, while three of them deal primarily with cattle, supplying them mainly for wedding celebrations. There are 75 small livestock traders, five of whom are women. These traders handle mainly small numbers of sheep and goats all year round and often buy and sell at the local markets. In addition, there are 20 opportunist traders, all men, who handle sheep periodically, in particular at Eid ul-Adha when most Muslim families sacrifice an animal. The future of most Bedouin would appear to lie in integration into the Israeli urban economy while attempting to maintain cultural traditions. The use of sheep and other livestock for traditional purposes will continue to play an important role. </jats:p>

The impact of religious festival on roadside livestock traders in urban and peri-urban areas of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

“…In this study’s sample, roadside traders consist of 31.43% regular traders and 68.57% opportunist traders, who only open their stalls during the Eid al-Adha period, both individually and in groups. Their characteristics are similar to those of the livestock traders in Tel Sheva, Southern Israel, where three types of livestock traders exist [4], namely, large, small, and opportunist livestock traders. Large livestock traders handle more than 200 animals a year, trade all year, and do not attend weekly markets, but the sellers and buyers visit their farms.…”

“…Traditional slaughtering and sacrifice of livestock, generally sheep and goats, for festivals and religious holiday play an essential role in Muslim countries [4]. Apart from the Eid al-Adha period, most consumers in Turkey do not directly buy animals from an animal market or a farm.…”

“…Urban traders (for sheep and goats) sell the livestock at market prices, which can fluctuate considerably. Prices of rams and bucks markedly increase before Eid al-Adha due to the high demand for animals to be sacrificed [4]. Meat consumption is related to religious and cultural traditions.…”

“…The animal has to “be perfect,” that is, it must not be cut, castrated, have docked tails or a broken horn, be lame or damaged. The minimum age for sheep is 6 months old and 1 year old for goats [4,22]. In this study’s sample, from a total of 20 and 16 roadside traders in urban and peri-urban areas, respectively, 95.00% and 81.25% of traders sell sheep, 70.00% and 75.00% goats, and 20.00% and 31.25% cattle.…”

“…Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, and Eid al-Adha is one of the largest religious festivals [1]. Sacrificial animals ( kurban ) are slaughtered on the feast of Eid al-Adha (10 th Zulhijjah) and the Tasyrik day, which is the 11 th , 12 th , and 13 th Zulhijjah in the Islamic calendar [4]. The number of livestock slaughtered during Eid al-Adha in 2016 was 1,019,777 heads: 279,211 heads of cattle, 7535 buffaloes, 650,583 goats, and 82,438 heads of sheep [5].…”