The country is unlikely to face any shortage of cattle during the Eid-ul-Azha this year as the supply of locally-raised cattle is sufficient to meet the demand for sacrificial animals, said officials.
According to the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, there are now 10.6 million sacrificial animals in the country for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha against last year's 10.4 million.
The ministry also said there are 4.45 million sacrificial cattle and buffalos while 7.1 million goats and sheep across the country, reports UNB.
On the other hand, the number of healthy sacrificial cows and buffalos is 2.92 million while that of goats and sheep is 1.82 million and the rest are unproductive animals.
According to statistics provided by the ministry, Muslims across the country sacrificed some 11.5 million cattle during last year's Eid-ul-Azha.
Visiting different designated cattle markets in the city, the UNB correspondent found the works have started for establishing the cattle haat (market) and they said the supply of locally-reared cattle have been increasing for the last several years cutting dependence on neighbouring countries.
They hoped that the supply of sacrificial animals will be adequate this year as in the past few years.
Locals predict that even if cattle are not imported from India, it will leave no impact on the market this time for the supply of adequate sacrificial animals.
Bangladesh Meat Merchants' Association (BMMA) is continuously working on cutting dependence and restricting the entry of Indian cows into the local market through different programmes.
The leaders of the association informed that their campaign helped the local production grow.
Once, BMMA says, cattle from India used to meet around 40 percent of the need for sacrificial animals during the Eid before the neighbouring country put restriction on cattle supply to Bangladesh.
Dependence on cattle of India and Myanmar has been on the decline for the last few years, leaders of the association also said.
Dr AK Fazlul Haque Bhuiyan, a professor of Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics of Bangladesh Agricultural University, told UNB that there is no doubt that local production will meet the demand of the sacrificial animals as local farmers are rearing huge cattle. Besides, the customers prefer the local ones during the Eid.
He said inadequate cattle inflow from India for the past few years has paved the way for local farmers to rear cattle in huge number, which have been playing an important role in meeting the demand of cattle in the country.
Shah Imran, General Secretary of Bangladesh Dairy Farmers' Association, told UNB that the number of the sacrificial animals in the country is higher than the demand. "So, there's no need to encourage the import."
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