Eid-ul-Azha tempts seasonal butchers

Sacrificing cattle and processing the meat together after Eid prayers is part of the ritual of Eid-ul-Azha. Many look for experienced and skilled butchers to avoid the hassle of doing it all by themselves.

This seasonal demand for butchers tempts many casual workers to switch profession to make some quick bucks.

According to the Livestock Department, 12,340 regular butchers have been trained to slaughter cattle properly this year. Around 10,140 seasonal butchers have also been trained.

On the other hand, 1 crore 19 lakh animals are ready to be sacrificed this Eid, says a report by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

Shipon Mia, a day-labourer, came to Dhaka from Rangpur on Monday with a group of 25 men to serve as butchers. He said his group scooped plenty of contracts in Dhanmondi 15 Government Staff Quarter Colony and their payment is quite lucrative.

“We come to the capital one or two nights before Eid every year and head back home the next afternoon to spend the rest of the day with friends and family,” Shipon said.

Non-professional butchers can be found waiting in Karwan Bazar, Kathal Bagan, Kalabagan and other residential areas, near cattle markets and commodity market areas. These people charge less than the fees of professional butchers.

Like professional ones, these seasonal butchers also charge a percentage of the cattle price, but at a lower rate which usually remains between 10 and 15 per cent.

“The charge for slaughtering a cow by a professional butcher is Tk 200- Tk 250 per Tk 1,000 of the price of cow, whereas a seasonal butcher charges Tk 100- Tk 150 for the same,” said Rabiul Alam, secretary-general of Bangladesh Meat Merchants Association.

Many of these professional butchers can be found both on E-commerce and F-commerce platforms. Most of them are offering a full service that includes slaughtering, cleaning, processing and even delivering the processed meat in freezer vans if a buyer purchases the sacrificial animal from these platforms.

“If a customer who did not buy a sacrificial animal from our platform seeks slaughtering services from our professionals, they will have to bring their cattle to our centre,” said Faisal Siddique of F-commerce platform Hexa Trading.

“We will charge Tk 200 per Tk 1,000 of the cow’s price for the service and it will be Tk 85 for a goat.”

Brigadier General Md Nazmul Haque, director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, emphasised better training for butchers to avoid potential accidents.

“Every day we cater treatment for around 1,200 emergency patients. The number is much higher on the day of Eid-ul-Azha mostly because amateurs try to slaughter cattle with sharp instruments. It is better to stay cautious than to suffer from accidents,” he said.