Bangladesh to stop cattle being brought from India before Eid-ul-Azha

The government has decided to halt smuggling of cattle from India to ensure fair price for local farmers and traders during the Eid-ul-Azha.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 16 July 2019, 04:04 PM
Updated : 16 July 2019, 04:04 PM

The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Md Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru at the Secretariat in Dhaka on Tuesday, the ministry said in a media release.

Bangladesh now has more cattle than the possible demand during Eid, which may fall on Aug 12, a date subjected to the appearance of the moon, according to the ministry.

It assumes 11 million cattle will be slaughtered this Eid while the number of cattle is about 11.8 million.

During Eid last year, 10.5 million cattle were slaughtered after the farmers and traders prepared 11.5 million, according to the ministry.

The government is doing all that is necessary to ensure supply of healthy cattle and safe trading during Eid, the release said.

“It has been decided that all sorts of intake of cattle, both legal and illegal, through the borders will remain halted until Eid-ul-Azha to safeguard the interests of the cattle sellers of the country,” it added.

In the meeting, officials claimed the number of cattle arriving from India has significantly dropped as Bangladesh has achieved self-sufficiency in meat.

In 2018, Bangladesh received 92,000 cows from India while the number had been up to 2.5 million annually in previous years.