With the aim of deception and trickery in buying and selling: installing “artificial” teeth and plastic surgery on livestock in Raqqa

It seems that the world of cosmetics is no longer only available to humans in North-East Syria, but has also spread to animals, but here with other motives, including fraud and the trick to market illegally.

A few days ago, social media pages in North-East Syria, and in the city of Raqqa in particular, circulated news about the revelation of a plastic surgery performed on livestock after they were sold in the Raqqa market.
After research, it turned out that it was actually revealed after the sale of one of the livestock that it had undergone plastic surgery, with the installation of teeth that concealed its true age, for the reason of selling it at a better price.

ASO News Network followed up on the news to verify it and work on it, reach out to some brokers in the livestock market in Raqqa, and follow up on the current event that occurred on September 4th of this year, when a livestock breeder in the Raqqa countryside was subjected to fraud and deception when purchasing livestock. A facelift had been performed to it.

Lifestock broker Mahmoud Al-Ahmad from Raqqa confirmed the story of the plastic surgery and fraud to ASO News Network, and said that this was actually done by installing artificial teeth on cattle, to make them appear younger, and this increases their price.
Mahmoud Al-Ahmad said that the incident is not new, and it is not the first time it has happened. Rather, he said that there are about five cases similar to “cheating” and deception operations, as he described, that were monitored in previous periods.

The broker “Mahmoud Al-Ahmad” reiterated during his talk to ASO News Network that the reason for performing cosmetic surgeries on livestock is to sell them and market them at a higher price than their basic price: “Older livestock, there is no benefit from their milk and meat, and they are not capable of reproduction, so people want young livestock.”

Mahmoud Al-Ahmad stated that the price of an old sheep does not exceed 200 US dollars, but after installing artificial teeth for it and showing that it is younger, the price of the sheep reaches about 400 US dollars, he said.

According to the broker”Mahmoud Al-Ahmad”, the majority of livestock whose teeth are changed or undergoing plastic surgery come from Syrian government areas.

The broker warns traders and livestock owners to carefully check the specifications of the sheep, by examining them and examining the body, nose and teeth. “There are well-known brokers and livestock traders, and they have experience in detecting fraud and tricks, or if there are cases of disease.”

Cosmetic injection
During the investigation of the matter, ASO News Network correspondent found more information about the issue of deception and trickery on animals. Several livestock guides in Raqqa told ASO News Network correspondent that there are cases of deception and trickery more dangerous than installing teeth on animals, including resorting to cosmetic surgeries for sheep.
The majority of the guides indicated that plastic surgery on the sheep is done to make the sheep look like a “forest” type.
The price of a forest sheep sometimes reaches about 15 thousand US dollars.

The process of cheating is carried out by changing some physical characteristics to be similar to the specifications of this breed, such as a curved nose by injecting the nose with cosmetic materials, as well as huge legs and a distinctive hair color.

Ali Al-Issa, a livestock breeder and dealer from the city of Tabqa, considers that physical cosmetic surgeries for livestock are more dangerous than dental implants, because of the difficulty of detecting them, he said.

Al-Issa also confirms that the majority of these cases come from areas controlled by the Syrian government and are mostly only discovered by highly experienced brokers, “because they choose improved varieties, which are very close in appearance to the shape and physical specifications of the forest variety.”

Al-Issa describes this case as the biggest fraud in the markets, because the price of a cleaned sheep is estimated at 1,500 US dollars, while after the plastic surgery its price is estimated at no less than 7,000 US dollars.

Al-Issa advises that trusted and experienced brokers be used during purchasing operations. “There are brokers whose primary job is to determine descriptions of livestock when buying and selling.”