BD sees 93.67 lakh Eid sacrifices

Bangladesh met its entire demand for sacrificial animals through domestically reared livestock during this year’s Eid-ul-Azha, with more than 93 lakh animals sacrificed nationwide and nearly 30 lakh remaining unsold, according to the government.

State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku disclosed the figures at a press conference at the Secretariat on Thursday.

He said a total of 9,367,418 animals were sacrificed during the festival, marking an increase of 231,418 compared with last year’s 9,136,000.

Highlighting the sector’s performance, the state minister said local farmers fully met the country’s demand for sacrificial animals, demonstrating the growing self-reliance of Bangladesh’s livestock industry.

He credited the achievement to the efforts of millions of livestock farmers, investments by entrepreneurs, the dedicated work of officials and employees of the Department of Livestock Services, and timely policy support from the government.

According to the data, of the 93.67 lakh animals sacrificed, 48.64 lakh were cattle and buffaloes, while 45.02 lakh were goats and sheep. Another 1,027 animals fell into other categories.

The government had estimated this year’s demand for sacrificial animals at 1.01 crore, while total availability reached 1.23 crore, resulting in a surplus of 29.66 lakh animals.

By comparison, last year the estimated demand stood at 1.03 crore against an availability of 1.24 crore animals. A total of 91.36 lakh animals were sacrificed, leaving a surplus of 33.11 lakh.

Division-wise figures showed that Dhaka recorded the highest number of sacrificial animals at 23.51 lakh, followed by Rajshahi with 23.42 lakh and Chattogram with 17.34 lakh.

Among the remaining divisions, 10.50 lakh animals were sacrificed in Rangpur, 8.46 lakh in Khulna, 4 lakh in Barishal, 3.67 lakh in Mymensingh and 2.74 lakh in Sylhet.