Hen-Eating Sheep Creates Dilemma

DUBAI (Reuters) - When Hussein al-Marzouqi's sheep went off its vegetarian diet it created a tricky moral dilemma for its Muslim owner.

Marzouqi, who had been raising the animal for a special feast at his home in the Gulf Arab emirate of Sharjah, is now seeking guidance from a Muslim scholar over whether it is permissible to eat a sheep that has gobbled up nine chickens.

Animals which scavenge are among foods banned by Islam.

Marzouqi told the United Arab Emirates' daily Gulf News that his mother had seen the sheep eating the chickens.

"It was always a meek and gentle creature, but now it has turned into a monster. My two daughters, aged two and five, used to play with it. Now they are scared to go near it for fear it will gobble them up too," he said.

Marzouqi believes loneliness drove the animal to binge.

"I gave away its companion to a friend and it became lonely. It looked as if it had lost its soulmate and fell into a deep sadness."

June 3, 1999 © Reuters Limited.

[ Back to Chickens in the News | Back to Shiver Me Chickens ]