Green activists yesterday expressed concern that a section of unscrupulous farmers and traders were involved in artificially fattening sacrificial cattle across the country by injecting hormones and chemicals in the run-up to Eid-ul-Azha. The government should take immediate steps, including stopping the use of hormone injections and steroids to fatten cattle, keeping in mind the serious health risks involved, green activists said. Greedy farmers normally use additional urea fertilisers, cyproheptadin, steroids, anabolic steroid, periactin and different types of hormones to fatten cattle. Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA) organised a roundtable on ‘Cattle fattening: Sanctity of qurbani and health risk’ at its Kolabagan office in the city, with Abu Naser Khan in the chair.
POBA general secretary Abdus Sobhan, member of editorial board Syed Mahbubul Alam, assistant secretary Mohammad Selim and member Tofael Ahmad and others spoke on the occasion. POBA joint secretary Dr Lenin Chowdhury presented the keynote paper.
The speakers said farmers must follow the scientific method and methods approved by the agricultural department to fatten cattle. Only six to seven months are needed to fatten cattle under the scientific method, they said. Experts said consumption of meat of artificially fattened cattle might cause diseases such as cancer, cardiac failure, kidney and cancer-related ailments for humans. The excessive use of steroids and hormones, such as dexamethasone or decason, betamethasone and periactin, damages livers, kidneys and intestines of cattle, they said.
According to the keynote paper, consumption of artificially fattened cattle meat affects human organs like kidney, lever, heart and other vital organs of the body. “Some unscrupulous people use additional urea fertilisers, inject hormones and steroids to fatten cattle in a short period. Consumption of such meat is harmful,” Dr Lenin said, explaining his paper. Periactin is completely banned in Bangladesh, he said, adding that cow-fattening Indian and Thai drugs entered Bangladesh through smuggling.
According to an animal journal, greedy farmers had used tablets in 2012 to fatten 63.7 per cent cattle, while a research conducted by the Agricultural University showed that 70.60 per cent cattle were fattened in 2014 using steroids. The actual numbers, however, might be even more. It is estimated that between 40 and 50 lakh heads of cattle would be required this year for sacrificial slaughter on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. However, the department of livestock estimates that about 33 lakh cattle and buffaloes are currently available in the country for sacrificial purposes.
“A total of 33 lakh cattle and buffaloes is available for sacrificial purposes. Besides, around 72 lakh goats and sheep have also been made ready for the Eid-ul-Azha. A total of 1.05 crore animals has been prepared for the sacrifice,” Ajoy Kumar Roy, director general of the department of livestock, told The Independent yesterday. He said they were conducting mobile courts to stop selling of cattle-fattening steroids and food. “It is a punishable crime if steroids and hormones are used to artificially fatten the cattle. People caught will get at least two years jail or a fine of Tk. 50,000 or both for committing such an offence under the Animal Disease Control Act,” he added.