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Eritrea takes stranded ship sheep

The sheep had been aboard the Cormo Express for over 80 days.
The sheep had been aboard the Cormo Express for over 80 days.

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ASMARA, Eritrea (Reuters) -- African nation Eritrea says 52,000 Australian sheep that spent months at sea after being rejected by dozens of countries would be slaughtered over the next two months and eaten.

Over 5,000 sheep died during their time on board what some Australian media dubbed the "ship of death" as more than 20 states turned them away on health grounds.

The animals have been herded ashore in Eritrea after the impoverished African country agreed to take them as a gift.

Eritrean Agriculture Minister Arefayne Berhe said Monday there were no health issues associated with the sheep.

"Our veterinarians have inspected them and testified they are free from disease," he said. "The fact that they were on board the ship for so long is good for us.

"They were de facto in quarantine, and if they have been for so long in quarantine and don't show any symptoms of a disease, it only attests to us that they are free of any disease and fit for human consumption," he added.

Eritrea, one of the poorest countries in the world, has had to appeal for nearly 90 percent of its food needs this year after a severe drought left many of its 4 million people dependent on food aid.

The sheep are being offloaded from the Dutch-owned ship carrying the animals, the "Cormo Express," and trucked inland to a holding station at the small settlement of Ghatelai.

"They will stay at Ghatelai for the next two weeks or so," Arefayne said. "And after that, they will be slaughtered for human consumption."

He said there were no plans to sell the sheep on the open market. "I think the meat will be given to people and schools and things like that, but we still haven't made a plan for exactly how they will be distributed and consumed."

The sheep left Australia for Saudi Arabia on August 6, but the Saudi buyer rejected them on the disputed grounds that 6 percent had scabby mouth disease. In Australia, animal rights activists have called for an end to the live export trade.



Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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