They said unscrupulous traders make the sacrificial animals fat by injecting medicine that help accumulate water in their bodies.
Prof. Anwarul Haque Begh, dean of the faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, suggested some ways how to identify these artificially fattened cattle.
Some five million cattle are expected to be sacrificed during Eid-ul-Azha.
According to an estimate of the livestock department, 5.7 million animals were slaughtered last year. Most of them cows.
Many traders reportedly use steroid to make their cattle fat for extra profit. Steroid is usually prescribed for asthma patients.
But excessive use of medicines like Dexamethasone or Decason, Betamethasone and Periactin damages kidney and intestine of cattle. As a result no water is discharged from their body. The accumulated water then get absorbed into the flesh of the cow making it looks bulky.
Prof. Anwarul Haque told bdnews24.com that the meat of the cow which is made healthy through normal feeding is not harmful. But the meat of those steroid injected cow is harmful.
On how to identify these artificial fat cows, Prof. Anwar said these cows look quiet due to illness. They cannot move normally. These cows do not want to eat either, he said.
If one presses the thigh of these sickly cows, the muscles there will sink because what appeared as flesh is actually accumulation of water.
Prof. Anwar said these cows die if they are not slaughtered within a particular time.
“If we eat these beef water will accumulate in our lungs and intestine and make out kidneys weak. It is bad for heart too,” he said.
Prof. Anwar said many cattle traders use steroids without the consent of veterinary doctors for extra profit. Sometimes quacks or medical representatives also influence these traders to use steroids.
This process starts three months before Eid, he said.
This unscrupulous practice is most rampant in Shahjadpur Upazila in Sirajganj. Almost 50,000 cows, oxen and buffaloes are reportedly undergoing through this process there.
Moqbul Hossain, a cattle farmer, said he had noticed that the cows of his neighbor got hefty suddenly and they had been sold out at a high price.
“Later I came to know that my neighbour gave his cows a special kind of medicine. I am also following him. Now my cows have become fat,” Moqbul said.
He said he had been giving that medicine to his cows for the last one month on a regular basis. He was not aware of the negative impact of the medicine, but he noticed that the cows looked weak and fatigued.
Moqbul said these medicines were available at the local groceries. Both local and Indian brands are available here, he said.
Upazila Livestock Officer Abdul Hai told bdnews24.com that they encouraged cattle farmers to fatten their animals in natural process. But the farmers administer un-prescribed medicines for quick profit.
Livestock department director general Mosaddek Ali told bdnews24.com according to Fish and Animal Food Act using steroid to fatten cattle is a punishable offence.
Last year many steroid-injected cows died as they were not sold out on time, he said.
Prof. Anwarul Haque Begh, dean of the faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, suggested some ways how to identify these artificially fattened cattle.
Some five million cattle are expected to be sacrificed during Eid-ul-Azha.
According to an estimate of the livestock department, 5.7 million animals were slaughtered last year. Most of them cows.
Many traders reportedly use steroid to make their cattle fat for extra profit. Steroid is usually prescribed for asthma patients.
But excessive use of medicines like Dexamethasone or Decason, Betamethasone and Periactin damages kidney and intestine of cattle. As a result no water is discharged from their body. The accumulated water then get absorbed into the flesh of the cow making it looks bulky.
Prof. Anwarul Haque told bdnews24.com that the meat of the cow which is made healthy through normal feeding is not harmful. But the meat of those steroid injected cow is harmful.
On how to identify these artificial fat cows, Prof. Anwar said these cows look quiet due to illness. They cannot move normally. These cows do not want to eat either, he said.
If one presses the thigh of these sickly cows, the muscles there will sink because what appeared as flesh is actually accumulation of water.
Prof. Anwar said these cows die if they are not slaughtered within a particular time.
“If we eat these beef water will accumulate in our lungs and intestine and make out kidneys weak. It is bad for heart too,” he said.
Prof. Anwar said many cattle traders use steroids without the consent of veterinary doctors for extra profit. Sometimes quacks or medical representatives also influence these traders to use steroids.
This process starts three months before Eid, he said.
This unscrupulous practice is most rampant in Shahjadpur Upazila in Sirajganj. Almost 50,000 cows, oxen and buffaloes are reportedly undergoing through this process there.
Moqbul Hossain, a cattle farmer, said he had noticed that the cows of his neighbor got hefty suddenly and they had been sold out at a high price.
“Later I came to know that my neighbour gave his cows a special kind of medicine. I am also following him. Now my cows have become fat,” Moqbul said.
He said he had been giving that medicine to his cows for the last one month on a regular basis. He was not aware of the negative impact of the medicine, but he noticed that the cows looked weak and fatigued.
Moqbul said these medicines were available at the local groceries. Both local and Indian brands are available here, he said.
Upazila Livestock Officer Abdul Hai told bdnews24.com that they encouraged cattle farmers to fatten their animals in natural process. But the farmers administer un-prescribed medicines for quick profit.
Livestock department director general Mosaddek Ali told bdnews24.com according to Fish and Animal Food Act using steroid to fatten cattle is a punishable offence.
Last year many steroid-injected cows died as they were not sold out on time, he said.
Full News: Fat can be fatal
