Ensure production of healthy poultry feed

The complaint that poisonous tannery wastes are being turned into poultry feed is nothing new. But what is surprising is that despite this feed’s great potential to harm human health, this practice could not be stopped in the country. When the tanneries were located in the capital’s Hazaribagh area, this matter got serious public attention. From the conscious sections of society concerns were raised. But after the tanneries were shifted to Savar, factories have sprouted there to produce feed of poultry, fish and animal from untreated poisonous tannery waste. According to a report of this newspaper yesterday, the number of illegal factories at Savar is as many as 40. In fact, with the shifting of tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar, the illegal feed factories were also shifted. There was none to see.

There was a High Court order, in response to a petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, to stop production of harmful feed across the country from tannery waste, but the order is of no avail as far as public health is concerned. It is no new knowledge that chemicals of the feed remain as residues in poultry, fish and animals and they can cause serious health complications even cancer.

The chemicals that are applied to process rawhides in tanneries are chromium, sulfuric acid, lime, soda, formica, chloride, sulphate and aluminum sulphate. Reportedly, 100 tonnes of wastes as trimmed rawhide, flesh and fat are produced in a day and these wastes are turned into feed after recycling.

In all societies there are perhaps people who can ignore grave concerns for public health for their personal benefits. In Bangladesh what is really worrying is that those who are responsible for the protection of public health do not deliver what they are supposed to. If that were not the case, the High Court order that had been issued in April this year should have been implemented by now.

The point here is the government is run by the taxes of people, yet the health concern of these people does not get serious attention from the relevant people of the government. It is expected that the authorities would henceforth change its attitude.     

 

 

 

Ensure production of healthy poultry feed

The complaint that poisonous tannery wastes are being turned into poultry feed is nothing new. But what is surprising is that despite this feeds great potential to harm human health, this practice could not be stopped in the country. When the tanneries were located in the capitals Hazaribagh area, this matter got serious public attention. From the conscious sections of society concerns were raised. But after the tanneries were shifted to Savar, factories have sprouted there to produce feed of poultry, fish and animal from untreated poisonous tannery waste. According to a report of this newspaper yesterday, the number of illegal factories at Savar is as many as 40. In fact, with the shifting of tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar, the illegal feed factories were also shifted. There was none to see. There was a High Court order, in response to a petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, to stop production of harmful feed across the country from tannery waste, but the order is of no avail as far as public health is concerned. It is no new knowledge that chemicals of the feed remain as residues in poultry, fish and animals and they can cause serious health complications even cancer. The chemicals that are applied to process rawhides in tanneries are chromium, sulfuric acid, lime, soda, formica, chloride, sulphate and aluminum sulphate. Reportedly, 100 tonnes of wastes as trimmed rawhide, flesh and fat are produced in a day and these wastes are turned into feed after recycling. In all societies there are perhaps people who can ignore grave concerns for public health for their personal benefits. In Bangladesh what is really worrying is that those who are responsible for the protection of public health do not deliver what they are supposed to. If that were not the case, the High Court order that had been issued in April this year should have been implemented by now. The point here is the government is run by the taxes of people, yet the health concern of these people does not get serious attention from the relevant people of the government. It is expected that the authorities would henceforth change its attitude.