Despite costing about $300 more than Australian sheep, all 500 Canadian lambs, imported to Singapore for the first time for the Islamic sacrificial ritual of korban, were sold out by Monday morning.

The lambs from Canada are part of a pilot trial and supplemented the 2,300 sheep imported from Australia that were sold out last month at the price of $455 each.

The Hari Raya Haji ritual, which commemorates Prophet Ibrahim's obedience to God, almost did not take place last year after Australia introduced rules to ensure that the animals' welfare was taken care of. To explore alternative sources, a korban review committee was formed last December.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim, who took part in Hari Raya Haji prayers at the Darul Makmur Mosque in Yishun on Tuesday morning, said that overall operations for korban this year have been successful so far. "At the end of the day, the most important thing for us is to provide alternatives to the community here," he said, explaining that the idea is to ensure that such practices are still carried out in Singapore every year.

A total of 21 mosques here performed the korban on Tuesday.