Hiiraan Online
Ahmed Abdisamad
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Residents in the port city of Kismayo started consuming hyena meat, after Al-Shabab militants authorized it.
Hunting, trading, and eating hyena is spreading in the area, which shocked some residents in Kismayo.
Anonymous source in Kismayo told Hiiraan Online that the consumption of hyena meat increased in the city in the past few months.
Consumption of hyena meat became a matter of discussion among the residents of Kismayo, as such is very alien to the Somali culture. Anonymous sources told HOL that Al-Shabab which controls most of Kismayo and surrounding environs is spreading misleading information that hyena meat has certain health benefits and cures many health ailments, albeit, the religious prohibition of consuming wild animals with canine tooth, Prophet Mohamed (peace be on him) states that "forbidden is the eating of any wild animals with a canine tooth and of any bird with talons." "Wild animals" denotes those which prey on others and devour them by tearing them apart, e.g., the lion, leopard, wolf, and the like; birds with talons such as the hawk, eagle, falcon, etc., do the same.
According to Islamic teachings consuming the meat of scavengers is prohibited, but Alshabab insists that this kind of meat is approved by Islam. Islamic scholars in Kismayo gave contradicting interpretations to the matter. It is not yet known if this is a religious edict, but the consumption is becoming widespread in Kismayo city and its surroundings
“One Kg of camel meat is approximately Somali Shillings 100,000, where as one Kg of hyena meat is double of that” said a resident of Kismayo who declined to give his name. Another anonymous resident in Kismayo told Hiiraan Online that there are some restaurants that started selling hyena meat with different foods. The price of hyena meat has risen and it’s affordable to only rich people.