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With Eid-ul-Azha approaching, a disturbing trend of unregulated cattle fattening has emerged across the country, raising serious public health concerns.

While the festival traditionally boosts the livestock sector, the rampant use of harmful substances to artificially fatten cattle poses grave risk to both human and animal health.

Experts warn that many farmers, especially seasonal traders, are increasingly resorting to toxic methods, including using steroids, hormones and high-protein injections, to fatten cows quickly for exorbitant profits. These practices not only subject animals to severe stress and pain but also contaminate the meat of the sacrificial animals consumed by millions.

Experts have said that various steroidal drugs, including Oradexon, Dexamethasone, Steron and Prednisolone, are commonly mixed with cattle feed or directly injected into the animals’ body. This causes the animals to rapidly gain weight and at the same time damaging their internal organs, particularly the liver and kidneys, leading to the accumulation of harmful residues in their meat.

‘These residues do not degrade even after cooking,’ said Professor Md Abul Kalam Azad, chair of internal medicine at Bangladesh Medical University.

‘Consuming such meat can cause kidney damage, antibiotic resistance, obesity in children and increase the risk of cancer, particularly among women,’ he said.

Farmers and livestock traders in Dhaka, Cumilla, Chandpur and other regions admit that the demand for fat cattle peaks during Eid, leading them to use ‘vitamin-like’ supplements—often as advised by pharmaceutical sales representatives. Most farmers and livestock traders apparently are unaware of the long-term health hazards caused by those ‘supplements’.

‘Customers prefer bulkier animals, so we have no choice,’ said a trader, wishing anonymity, from Keraniganj. ‘We use supplements to make the animals look healthy. We can buy the supplements easily without prescriptions.’

Veterinary pharmacies also confirm a seasonal spike in demand for such drugs. ‘Farmers know what they want. They ask for specific medicines—we just supply them,’ said a pharmacy owner in Savar, declining to be named.

Professor AKM Humayun Kober, head of the dairy and poultry science department at Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and also the director of the university’s Poultry Research and Training Centre, said that the problem was most prevalent among seasonal traders, many of whom lacked basic training in livestock care.

‘Our monitoring is still weak, and government departments are often unable to meet farmers’ needs,’ he said, ‘farmers often turn to unregulated pharmacies for medicine, as district- and upazila-level veterinary services are overstretched.’

Although the Fish Feed and Animal Feed Act, 2010 prohibits the use of steroids, hormones and unapproved drugs in cattle fattening with penalties up to one year in jail and Tk 50,000 fines, its enforcement remains lax.

Md Bayzer Rahman, director, administration at the Department of Livestock Services, claimed that the situation had improved. ‘The use of hormones and steroids has significantly reduced. We have 2,000 monitoring teams active across the country, and mobile units are working in cattle markets during Eid.’

He, however, admitted manpower shortages, especially in areas with high farm density. ‘Some upazilas still have insufficient veterinary officers. We’re working to increase capacity and hire more staff.’

Despite government awareness campaigns through radio, TV and local outreach, experts believe much more needs to be done.

Shakila Faruque, director general of the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute under the fisheries and livestock resources ministry, urged the adoption of scientifically approved fattening methods developed by the institute. ‘Our technology ensures safe fattening without risking health. Animals are vaccinated, dewormed and given proper nutrition—no illegal drugs involved,’ she explained.

SM Nazer Hossain, vice-president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, stressed the need for stronger regulatory enforcement. ‘There’s still easy access to illegal drugs. The department of livestock must exercise its magisterial powers and conduct mobile court drives.’

‘High import duties make these drugs expensive, yet they flood our market due to high demand and lack of oversight,’ he added.

Mohammed Alim Akhter Khan, director general of the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection, said that monitoring efforts were ramped up. ‘This Eid, we’ve requested every deputy commissioner, and upazila nirbahi officer to actively oversee cattle markets. We’ve also launched public awareness ads and are encouraging complaints from consumers.’

Experts advise consumers to be cautious while purchasing sacrificial animals. Signs of artificial fattening include excessive salivation, laboured breathing and stiffness in movement, and also when the skin does not bounce back quickly after being thumb-pressed.

According to the ministry of fisheries and livestock, around 1.25 crore animals, including over 56 lakh cows and buffaloes, are ready for sacrifice this year. An estimated surplus of over 20 lakh animals is also expected, further intensifying competition among traders.

Experts also stress that with Eid-ul-Azha nearing, strong collaborations among the government, traders and consumers are must to stop the harmful practices of cattle fattening to save public health.