What is the ruling on branding livestock with a hot iron on the face and elsewhere?

Question:
Your Eminence: What is the ruling on branding livestock with a hot iron if there is no alternative to it, especially camels?

Answer:
Branding them is permissible, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used branding. So brand them with a hot iron on their thighs and necks, not on their faces. Branding is permissible for camels and the like, on the thigh or the neck. As for the face, no, do not brand them on their faces, neither camels, nor cows, nor sheep. They are only branded on the thigh, or the ear, or the like.