Temporary Permits for the Holiday
Damascus governorate has announced terms and procedures for issuing temporary slaughter permits to licensed butchers and meat-shop owners for the Eid al-Adha holiday, in a move to organize slaughtering under set sanitary standards in the run-up to the festival.
The governorate is accepting applications from 12 May 2026 through 25 May 2026, with the rules published on its official Facebook page on Wednesday 13 May 2026.
Fees and Penalties
Each licensed butcher in Damascus pays 5,000 new Syrian pounds (SYP) as a service fee to obtain a permit. A 10,000 SYP fine applies to anyone who slaughters without a permit or fails to meet the published sanitary conditions.
Permits are restricted to butchers already licensed in Damascus and require a written undertaking to comply with public-hygiene rules during slaughtering operations.
Sanitary Conditions
Licensees must keep livestock inside small trucks rather than on sidewalks or streets, package meat exclusively in standard white nylon bags, and dispose of slaughter waste in tightly sealed nylon bags. Workers must wear work shirts, gloves, and face masks inside the slaughtering area.
The conditions prohibit displaying carcasses outside the shop or slaughtering anywhere outside the licensed premises, with the governorate's media office tasked with publicizing the call for permit applications.
Meat Prices and Market Pressure
The new permit framework arrives as red-meat prices in Syrian markets sit at sharply elevated levels. A kilo of veal exceeds 160,000 SYP, while a kilo of lamb sells for more than 200,000 SYP.
Earlier the National Import and Export Committee cut customs duties on live animal imports to ease pressure on the domestic market, lowering the head fee for cattle and calves to 7 US dollars (USD) from 53 USD, camels to 7 USD from 27 USD, and sheep and goats to 2 USD from 7 USD.
Regional Trade Backdrop
The licensing rules also come amid expanding Syrian meat exports. Jordan's Agriculture Minister, Saeb Khreisat, said on 25 March 2026 that Jordan contracted to import 400 tons of Syrian slaughtered lamb, with shipments already entering Jordanian markets where domestic production covers about 40 percent of red-meat needs.
Domestic consumer-protection advocates have urged the agriculture ministry to weigh export decisions against local supply, citing the elevated prices of both red and white meats during the holiday season.