Cattle
1.5 lac cattle ready for slaughter in Chapainawabganj, but will Covid-19 stand in the way?
Livestock farmers in Chapainawabganj have entire herds of cattle they intend to sell for slaughter ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, despite being in the news recently for being crippled by COVID-19.
Officials at the district Livestock Department said around 1.5 lac sacrificial animals are ready to be sacrificed in the district for Eid-ul-Azha.
They are expecting to supply those to other districts after fulfilling local demand, they said.
Read: No cattle from outside country ahead of Eid-ul-Azha: Livestock Minister
The farmers of the district told UNB that there is no need to bring sacrificial animals from the other side of the border keeping in mind the Covid-19 situation, as they are confident that the homegrown cattle would be enough to meet the demand.
They also demanded the authorities concerned take steps to halt smuggling of cattle from India to ensure fair prices for local farmers.
Livestock farmers are now busy nurturing cattle in more than 13,000 cattle farms in the district. The financial health of these farms depends to a great extent on good sales for Eid ul Azha.
Local livestock officer doctor Mostafizur Rahman confirmed the numbers to UNB.
Read:Digital Haat 2021 launched with target to sell 1 lakh cattle before Eid
“The total demand of cattle for slaughter in the district is no more than 1.04 lac, but more than 1.5 lac cattle are ready in the district,” he said. That means the farmers plan to sell almost 50,000 cattle to other parts of Bangladesh.
Eid ul Azha is expected to be celebrated in around a fortnight's time in Bangladesh, depending on the sighting of the moon. The country is currently in the midst of a strict lockdown due to Covid-19. But Chapainawabganj has been in lockdown from the last week of May, when cases started shooting up in the district after the Delta variant of the virus, then known simply as the Indian variant, was detected in multiple patients in the frontier district.
In this situation the cattle farmers may face some extra bottlenecks in transporting the cattle to different parts of the country. They may possibly take a leaf out of the mango farmers in the district, another thriving trade in the district.
Read:Enough cattle in Bangladesh for sacrifices during Eid: DLS
While lockdown was imposed in Chapainawabganj, the 'seasonal mango business' was exempted from the restrictions, allowing for the region's famous mangoes to be enjoyed by the entire country, and the farmers to do a roaring trade in the seasonal fruit. Even buyers from outside the district were allowed to go in and buy mangoes.
Whether cattle farmers can benefit from a similar directive remains to be seen.
In the latest numbers, the Covid-19 situation has been improving somewhat in the district. On July 3 the district reported 61 new cases.
Enough cattle in Bangladesh for sacrifices during Eid: DLS
The country is unlikely to face any shortage of sacrificial animals during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha as there will be adequate supply of locally-reared cattle to meet the demand despite Covid-19 pandemic, according to authorities.
Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sham Rezaul Karim said, "There’re more animals in the country than the number required for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha."
"This time there’s no need to import as the number of sacrificial animals is much higher in the country,” he said.
Read Digital Cattle Markets in Bangladesh to Buy Sacrificing Animals Online
Officials at the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) said 1.20 crore sacrificial animals, including 45.47 lakh cows and buffaloes, are available this time compared to 1.18 crore last year. The number of goats and sheep is 73 lakh 35 thousand while that of other kinds of livestock is 4765.
According to the DLS, some 95 lakh animals were sacrificed last year against an estimated 1.1 crore while 1.18 crore animals were ready for sale.
Quoting their official database, DLS assistant director (farm) Dr ABM Khaleduzzaman said more than 5 lakh cattle farmers are rearing the sacrificial animals to sell them at Eid-ul-Azha markets.
Read Special cattle trains ahead of Eid-ul-Azha
But farm owners and local farmers hinted buyers may have to pay a high price and see a little shortage in the city this year too as a strict lockdown and restriction on movement was imposed before on July 1.
The high price of fodder for the cattle will be another reason for the high price of the cattle as farmers have spent Tk 400 to Tk500 per sack of 37 kg feed for the last four months.
A farmer from Cumilla Shishu Mian said many seasonal farmers were seen busy collecting cattle from them 15 to 20 days ago. But they are not keen to collect now for the restriction as before.
Also read: Record-high cattle arrivals from Myanmar Wednesday
"More importantly, we aren’t selling our cattle to seasonal traders early as they are offering very little price compared to our invested money for rearing this year. So, we’re waiting for a good price," he added.
Amzad Ali, owner of Dhaka-based farm Amzad Agro, said the rearing cost was higher than the previous year which is forcing them to charge a little high price compared to the last few years.
People involved in the trade said a big portion of about 14 lakh cows that farmers rear are for the Eid-ul-Azha markets of the capital city. But the demand was low last year due to coronavirus and floods.
Also read: Cattle markets in Thakurgaon closed for a week due to Covid-19
Prices were low at the beginning, but spiked at the end because of fewer animals and more buyers. People, however, are worried about the price of sacrificial animals this year too because of the bad experience last year.
Many city dwellers are trying to make bookings early to avoid the last moment hassles.
Cattle smuggling on amid concern about Indian Delta variant
Residents of the border areas of the district are growingly worried about highly contagious Delta variant of Covid infection as smuggling of Indian cattle has reportedly increased ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
The cattle smuggling has become rampant through the porous frontier of the district, alleged the local people.
Also read: Record-high cattle arrivals from Myanmar Wednesday
The smugglers bring the Indian cows during the night using both land and river routes, they said.
In the local haats the Indian cattle are available and traders from different districts throng there as the demand has spiked because of upcoming Eid festival of sacrifice.
Khulna braces for shortage of sacrificial animals ahead of Eid-ul-Azha
Khulna district is bracing for a shortage of sacrificial animals ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha causing worries among the Muslim devotees about a possible hike in price of the cattle.
Only about 48,000 sacrificial animals will be available for slaughtering compared to an estimated demand of 75,000 this year, according to figures available from the south-western district’s cattle farms and officials.
Read:Cattle markets in Thakurgaon closed for a week due to Covid-19
Eid-ul-Azha, the festival of sacrifice, is likely to be celebrated across the country in July next for the second consecutive year under the shadow of a surging Covid-19 pandemic.
Khulna has recently witnessed a spike in the infections, along with other bordering districts.
According to the local Fisheries and Livestock offices, some 47,789 cattle are available for Kurbani this year in 5,212 farms across the district as against a demand of 75,000 cattle.
The district saw slaughtering of some 74,000 cattle heads during Eid festival last year.
This year the farms have reared for Qurbani 28,568 oxen, 2,319 bulls, 2,404 cows, nine buffaloes, 12,239 goats, 2,250 sheep.
The huge gap between the demand and supply means the traders and buyers of the district will have to bring in animals from other districts. This, in turn, will spike the price.
Habibur Rahman Sardar, a local resident said “We have a joint family and we usually sacrifice 2 to 3 animals. Cattle brought from other districts cost high as we need to pay more for the carrying and extra tolls too.”
Read: Life no longer milk for Khulna cattle farmers as Razor disease spreads
Shamsuzzaman Mia Swapan, councillor of number 21 ward, said “It is difficult to meet the demand of sacrificial animals with our production only. For this reason, we have to bring animals from other districts which may increase the price.”
During a recent visit to a number of cattle farms, this correspondent found the farmers in Sadar, Fhultala, Terokhada, Rupsha, Dakope, Koyra and Paikgachcha upazila busy in rearing their animals.
Afsar Sheikh, a farmer in Bamandia village of Dumuria upazila, said “Now I am passing busy days to look after my oxen as I have reared these without using any medicine. I hope I will be able to sell these at a good price.”
Ranjit Chakraborty, Khulna district Fisheries and livestock officials, said about 26 cattle haats will be set up in the district. Since animals from other districts will also arrive, there will be no shortage of sacrificial animals.
Read:Now ‘Big Boss’ is in Jashore, drawing crowd
Medical teams including upazila-level veterinary doctors and their field-level assistants will visit every cattle market to check health condition of the animals to prevent selling of sick ones, he said.
He said the farmers as well as the livestock officials are now alert about use of any harmful chemicals in cattle rearing.
Now ‘Big Boss’ is in Jashore, drawing crowd
“Big Boss” is here. And the curious visitors too.
No, this is not the popular Indian reality television show.
Read:Cattle markets in Thakurgaon closed for a week due to Covid-19
It’s an ox that has become a centre of attraction and popular gossip in Deluabati village in Monirampur upazila of Jashore district.
‘Big Boss’ is 5.7 feet high and 8.5 feet tall. Its owner Ishak Ali hopes to sell at at Tk. 25 lakh. So, the sheer size and the fat price have become a talk of the town.
Ishak is confident he will get the expected price for his ‘Big Boss’, an Australian Friesian variety cattle, in the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
Read:Life no longer milk for Khulna cattle farmers as Razor disease spreads
Ishak named the cattle as Big Boss due to its size. He also claimed that some 1240 kg meat will be obtained from the ox. However, the big size cattle also consumed fodder worth Tk 7,000-8,000 daily, he said.
“In high temperature Big Boss needs two baths at night. But we bathe it twice in a day. One can’t take the big size ox from one place to another so everything is done at the cow-shed,” said Ishak.
Many people have started thronging to the house of Ishak to see ‘Big Boss’ as he made the information public on Saturday.
Read:How Dhaka plans to meet the growing demand for quality cattle feed
Salma Begum, wife of Ishak, said “They have bought a cow of Australian Friesian variety from their neighbour five years ago and later the cow gave birth to an ox on February 1, 2018. As the calf looked big in size it was named Big Boss.”
Chuadanga cattle trader 'commits suicide' over Covid stigma
A 50-year-old cattle trader, who tested Covid-19 positive four days ago, reportedly committed suicide by hanging after being subjected to social stigma.
Police identified the deceased as Abdur Razzaque, of Chuadanga's Alamdanga upazila, who was found hanging at his residence Sunday morning.
When asked about the likely trigger behind the suicide, Alamdanga Police Station Officer-in-Charge Alamgir Kabir said, "Razzaque had been suffering from Covid-19 symptoms and tested positive on June 16. After that, he was undergoing isolation at home following the advice of the doctors."
Also read: One in 100 deaths is by suicide: WHO
"I heard my husband coughing in the morning. I went to his room to serve him breakfast but found that he ended his life by hanging," Moyna Khatun, wife of the deceased, said.
"On June 17, the local administration hoisted a red flag on Razzaque's residence and put it under lockdown. Next, the locals started to harass and humiliate Razzaque," Aminul Haque Rokon, chairman of Alamdanga's Jehala union parishad, said.
Also read: Rajshahi freelancer ‘commits suicide’ after posting on FB
"The locals did not allow us to leave the house – even to shop for groceries," Moyna said.
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Take necessary steps to tackle LSD of cattle: Ministry
The Fisheries and Livestock Ministry has asked the Livestock Department to take necessary measures immediately for preventing lumpy skin diseases (LSD) of cattle.
The Ministry issued a circular in this regard on Thursday.
It also asked to take necessary measures for the treatment of the cattle, infected with the viral diseases.
The Ministry also asked to form a medical team consisting of an Upazila Livestock officer, one veterinary surgeon and a Livestock Extension officer. Deputy assistant livestock officer and veterinary filed assistant and filed assistant will be a part of the team, the release said.
It also asked the medical team to ensure physical presence and visit the cattle infected by the disease and ordered the District/Division Livestock officer to monitor it.
The Ministry also asked to make a list of the cattle owners, infected with the virus, address and mobile numbers.
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) of cattle has been reported from Sadar, Khansama and Bochaganj upazilas in Dinajpur.
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