Farming Exotic Animals
By LIMANA SOLAIMAN MRIDHA
Farming exotic animals in our country can be hard due to the very nature of our climate. Many foreign breeds of animals find it tough to adapt to our hot and humid weather, and thus, rearing them can prove to be complicated. That being said, in the last decade or so, some exotic animal farms have sprung up in our country. But not all the farms were started from a commercial point of view.
Camel meat is a delicacy enjoyed by some, and previously imported camels were seen in cattle markets only during Eid-ul-Azha in this country. About 13 years ago, Dewanbag Sharif, an Islamic organisation based in Dhaka, bought 10 camels, one male and nine females, from Rajasthan in India during Eid-ul-Azha. But the animals were not sacrificed at the time; they were kept for breeding instead.
Syed Mehadi Hasan, media coordinator of Dewanbag Sharif, told this reporter: The Babe Madina Camel Farm started rearing camels in 2004. Initially, we did not plan on starting a business with the animals because we werent sure they would survive in our climate. Some years back, the Bangladesh National Zoo brought some camels, but they died. When we first started, many experts said we wont be able to make it work. But by the grace of Almighty Allah, we have 35 camels now. This Eid-ul-Azha, we sold five camels, one was sold for a staggering Tk1.2 million, while the others went for Tk800, 000 each. Every day, the camels give milk and we sell that for Tk 400 per litre.
As far as I know, no licence is required for camel farming. Most of the profits generated from our sales are spent on operating the farm. Not much land is needed and over the years, the demand for camels in our own country has grown rapidly. Although camels eat vegetation which grows in the desert, we feed them grain, soy and other fodder that we normally feed our local livestock, Hasan added.
As if camels werent enough to get the exotic feel, the farm also rears the famous fat-tailed sheep. Known for their distinctive large tails and hindquarters, these domestic sheep are commonly found in Afghanistan, northern India, Pakistan, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
The Babe Madina Camel Farm started rearing the fat-tailed sheep in 2013 and right now, there are 17 sheep. One of the important things when it comes to farming these animals is that they need to be in a very clean environment. For example, in our country we sweat a lot due to the high humidity, but in the Middle East, its not like that. We have made an artificial desert like environment for the camels and the fat-tailed sheep. We shear the sheeps wool during the summer so they do not get any infection on their skin. A lot of manpower is required to maintain this project and it is costly, said Syed M Sayedur Rahman Al Mahbubi, secretary general of Dewanbag Sharif.
Not all animals are farmed for consumption. Three years ago, Sheikh Javed, 52, started rearing goats imported from India. He was very much taken by his neighbours pet goat that would follow him around, and decided to get one for himself. Soon after, he came across two females of the species being sold on bikroy.com, an online marketplace.
I bought those two as well as I saw people were really taken by this particular species of goat and wanted to keep them as pets. Each kid sells for Tk10, 000 to Tk 60, 000, depending on the breed. An adult goat can be sold for Tk100, 000 even. I do not keep more than 10 of these animals at a time since I have limited space. I have custom made a special cage for my goats. It is 10-feet long and 4-feet wide and divided into five parts. I keep five animals there and the rest are kept in a separate shade I have made for the purpose. One nanny goat can give birth to three, sometimes even four kids, and I usually sell them on bikroy.com. There is also demand for their milk, which sells for Tk200 per kg, said Javed, who lives in Mirpur.
Turkey farming is also taking off in Bangladesh. Nurul Huda, who owns BD Turkey Farm in Gazipur, started rearing this large poultry bird, which originates from North America, in 2006. Starting with only six turkeys, his initial investment was Tk30, 000. Now, the business is flourishing and the farm has over 150 turkeys.
Right now, we are struggling to meet the growing demand, which is far more than our production. My farm is set up on 2,000 square feet (186 sq metre). We sell turkey eggs at Tk150 per piece and a one-day hatchling for Tk300-350. The rate of processed turkey meat is currently Tk450 per kg, or more. Right now, I want to increase the meat processing side of my business. Every month, we sell about Tk40,000 to Tk50,000 worth of meat and eggs. Most of our sales are done online. We have a Facebook group named Amara Turkey Farmer, we get many orders from that platform, Huda said.
At present, two people are working on our farm and both of them are my family members. Everybody eats turkey meat and eggs. I have never come across anyone saying this is prohibited in any religion. As far I know, there is no special permission required for turkey farming. Since it is a business, one can surely get a trade licence from the relevant authorities. The standard space required for a turkey is 5 sq ft. I have given a bit more space for my birds. One male turkey is kept for every three female turkey. Normally, they like soft type of grass or vegetation, besides that, they eat regular poultry feed. Dogs are the only danger they face here. I believe there are about 5,000 to 10,000 turkey farms in our country now, Huda added.
When contacted, the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce Industry (DCCI) was not able to provide much information about exotic farms, as it is not mandatory for such kind of businesses to become a member of the trade body.
Apart from domestic animals, exotic fish are also farmed in Bangladesh. Meezanur Rahman, a scientist at WorldFish, an international non-profit organisation, told this reporter: Normally, tilapia, grass carp, mirror carp, big head carp, common carp, Thai pangus, Vietnamese koi and African catfish are considered as exotic fishes in our country. Out of all these, only the African catfish didnt get good response from the consumers. These exotic fishes are helping us to meet the demand for fish. As far as the environment is concerned, one has to study about the exotic species before trying to farm or breed it. At the moment, we do not have any proven report that states that these particular species are a danger or causing any kind of negative effect on our environment. One has to have clear ideas about hatcheries if they want to breed any kind of fish. Cost is the most vital part when it comes to fish farming. The kind of exotic fishes we farm, there is little scope for exporting them.
About licensing required for farming exotic species, Jahidul Kabir, Conservator of Forest, Wildlife and Nature Conservation Cycle, said: At the moment, we are working on formulating a law on exotic animal farming. Anyone who wants to start an exotic animal farm needs to get clearance from us. Since this kind of business was not expanding that much, we really didnt have a guideline. In the past, we gave permission to start two crocodile farms in our country. One was in Coxs Bazar and another in Bhaluka, Mymensingh. The Coxs Bazar crocodile farm stopped operating a few years ago, but the farm in Bhaluka is still operational.
Somnath Dey, Managing Director, South Bangla Reptiles Farm Ltd, told this reporter: We have applied for permission to farm crocodiles. More than the commercial aspect, we are interested in breeding crocodiles as they are on the verge of extinction in our country due to various reasons. We want to see if we can help to save or revive the aquatic reptiles. Before, we used to find crocodiles in many areas, but now things have changed and we have only a handful of rivers where crocodiles still survive. For example, one can find crocodiles in the Sundarbans. We have taken lease of a river area at Botiaghata, Khulna for one year from the local government. We have also applied to the Ministry of Land to extend the lease. We have about 10 acres of land on the river bank. The riverside is a good place to farm crocodiles. We have made an initial investment of Tk50 million and we have plans to take loans from the government. Right now, the government is inspecting different sides and we hope we will get the permission to farm soon.
Rajib Shome, managing director of Reptiles Farm Ltd, which started operating in 2005 at Bhaluka, Mymensingh, said: Our farm is manned by 30 staff and all the ponds are surrounded by walls to prevent any mishaps. The total area is approximately 13.5 acre and we started by importing saltwater crocodiles from Malaysia. We export our product (crocodile skin) to Japan. For now, it is not possible to process the skin here in Bangladesh, as we do not have special tanneries required for it, said Shome. There are not many crocodile farms in Bangladesh. There is one in Coxs Bazaar and one in Bandarbans Naikhongchhari area.
Photos: Nabiulla Nabi, Courtesy
