Cattle being fattened by steroid and hormone medicines are being sold in the cattle markets ahead of Eid-ul-Azha posing serous health concern, the department of livestock officials warned.
Representatives of some pharmaceutical companies were persuading the animal quacks in rural areas to prescribe farmers to use steroid and hormone, they said.
The dishonest businessmen and farmers were using such harmful medicines to make immediate profit by selling fat animals for sacrifice, they said.
The department of livestock, however, has already directed field level officials and employees to create awareness about the impact of medicine-fed animals.
According to livestock statistics, a total of 57.52 lakh cattle were slaughtered during last Eid-ul-Azha held in 2012. Of them, 8.15 lakh were female cows while male cows were 30.11 lakh, goats/sheep 18.97 lakh and 24,603 other animals including camel.
A number of veterinary medicine specialists at the department of livestock told New Age on Sunday that although cattle could be fattened through scientific management of animal foods and proper treatment but dishonest people want to make quick profit by using steroid and hormone medicines.
Fattened cattle would look weak, pale, feeling uncomfortable to walk and water would be stored beneath the skin, they said.
By eating such steroid meat, people could suffer from various diseases including kidney complication, liver and lung problems and other diseases, they said.
Standard animal foods by mixing straw, Chita (Gur) and urea fertilizer could be made for feeding cattle to make them fat within 90 days, they said.
By using medicines on prescription of veterinary doctors, ticks and mites could be eliminated from cow skin, they said, adding that the cows would feel better to eat more and become fat naturally.
Livestock department director general Mosaddek Hossain on Sunday said using steroid and hormone in the animal foods is a violation of fisheries and livestock Act-2010 and also a punishable offence.
Such medicines are also harmful for human health, he said, making an appeal that people should not be involved in using such harmful drugs on animals.
If anybody is found using steroid and hormone in animal foods, he or she could be prosecuted, he said.
Anwarul Haque Beg, dean of animal husbandry and veterinary medicine faculty at Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, told New Age on Sunday that although dishonest people were using drugs to fatten their cattle, actually those cattle were not being fattened.
Cattle would be seen fatty, but they would actually be weak and fall down on the ground easily as water is stored under their skin for using steroid, he said.
He suggested the buyers to be careful while buying cattle for slaughtering during the coming Eid-Ul-Azha.
Meanwhile, New Age Correspondent in Lalmonirhat reported that Indian cattle suffering from different diseases, especially anthrax, were being sold at markets in border areas on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Azha.
People were buying these diseased Indian cattle as their prices were lower than that of local cattle.
These Indian cattle were also being sent to the capital and other parts of the country, cattle traders said, adding that Indian cattle had high demand as they were big in size and cheaper.
The Lalmonirhat district livestock officer Abu Hossain Sarker confirmed that different diseases including anthrax infected Indian cattle were being sold in the cattle markets.
-With New Age input
