Chattogram braces for Eid with a shortage of sacrificial animals

Chattogram is likely to face a shortage of 33,406 sacrificial animals in the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, mainly due to lower production resulting from the escalated cost of animal feed, data from the District Livestock Office suggest.

This year, the demand for sacrificial animals in the Chattogram district is 8,85,765, while only 8,52,359 animals are available, including cows, goats, and sheep, according to the livestock office.

Over the past year, Chattogram has seen a decline in sacrificial animals as farmers are increasingly discouraged from animal husbandry due to the rising cost of animal feed.

However, despite a deficit on paper, stakeholders believe that there will be no significant impact on the market.

Firstly, the economic recession will mitigate its impact as middle and lower-middle-class families plan to share sacrifices.

Secondly, a good number of animals will arrive from various neighbouring districts.

Faruk Ahmed, a resident of the city's Kotwali area, said economic constraints now necessitate shared sacrifices among families.

"A cow costs between Tk1 and Tk2 lakh. It's no longer feasible for one family to buy a cow alone. So we will share as usual," he said.

Trader Abul Khair at Sagorika Cattle Market told The Business Standard that the partial shortage will not significantly impact the market.

He said cattle from Myanmar and additional animals from farms in northern Bangladesh would supplement the local stock.

The local stock includes 5,26,475 cows, 71,365 buffaloes, 1,95,783 goats, 58,692 sheep, and 88 other animals across farms in 15 upazilas and Chattogram city.

Sandwip upazila leads in preparing sacrificial cattle with 82,807 animals against a demand of 79,638.

Last year, demand was 8,79,713, but only 7,70,930 animals were prepared, resulting in a shortage of over 1,00,000.

Despite a slight increase in the number of sacrificial animals this year, the deficit persists.

Dr Md Nazrul Islam, District Livestock Officer, told TBS that Chattogram's deficit would be addressed by importing animals from neighbouring hill districts and other regions, such as Pabna, Faridpur and Kushtia.

"While the arrival of Indian cattle has ceased, the local production is sufficient to meet demand," he said.

To promote domestic production, the government has discontinued the import of cows from India.

If the price of animal feed stabilises, Chattogram could potentially meet 100% of its sacrificial animal demand in the future and further encourage livestock entrepreneurship, according to stakeholders.