Shafaq News- Baghdad

Baghdad Municipality launched a sweeping field campaign on Tuesday to monitor livestock herders and prevent slaughter operations outside licensed abattoirs, as Iraq prepares to mark Eid al-Adha on May 27.

Udai al-Jundail, spokesperson for Baghdad Municipality, told Shafaq News that all municipal departments have been mobilized for the operation. Animals found slaughtered in violation of regulations are subject to confiscation and public auction, a measure al-Jundail described as central to deterring repeat offenses.

The crackdown coincides with heightened concern over Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), a tick-borne viral disease that spreads through contact with infected animal blood, which peaks in transmission risk during mass slaughter events. Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture introduced a separate set of preventive measures in anticipation of the holiday.

Health authorities have recorded 53 CCHF cases and 9 deaths in Iraq so far in 2026, following 247 cases and 38 deaths across all of 2025.

Read more: Blood, ticks, and broken systems: The resurgence of CCHF in Iraq