The trend for buying sacrificial animals from online markets is increasing during Eid-ul-Azha besides making purchases from the makeshift or permanent cattle markets.
Although the trend is more visible in the capital Dhaka, but other cities and areas are also seeing a rise in online purchase of sacrificial animals during Eid-ul-Azha.
Besides, many are also accepting the slaughtering services offered by many of those farms selling sacrificial animals online. These cattle farms provide customers an end-to-end service, from selling to slaughtering, skinning, chopping, packing and delivery of the meat, saving their customers from many hours of hectic labour.聽
People have cited both ease and safety in online payment as reasons for opting for the online services as it saves both time and labour and also from mugging gangs who prowl the animal haats and prey on the vulnerable visitors who come there with money to buy animals.
A lack of space and arrangement for slaughtering and after-slaughter activity in Dhaka and other cities is also encouraging many to take the services provided by the online farms, several city residents told 抖阴精品.聽
Md Nazmul, a resident of Uttara in the capital, said, 鈥業鈥檝e booked a cow after browsing the pictures of cows online. But I will need to travel to the farm before purchasing. I鈥檒l go there tomorrow (Sunday).鈥�
Fisheries and livestock minister Md Abdur Rahman in a press briefing on June 13 said that about 1.3 crore sacrificial animals were ready across the country this year against a demand of 1.07 crore.
鈥楾here will be no shortage of sacrificial animals as more animals are available against the demand,鈥� he said.
According to the Department of Livestock Services officials, of the ready sacrificial animals, 52, 60, 716 are cows and buffalos, 76,17,801 are goats and sheep and 1,850 are others.
Around 1, 41, 81, 245 animals were sacrificed in the country in 2023, data from the livestock services department showed. Of them, 4, 63, 096 were sold online.
Currently the largest digital haat platform for sacrificial animals鈥攄igitalhaat.gov.bd鈥攚as launched in 2020 amid covid-19 restrictions, which is a joint public-private initiative of e-Cab, ekShop, Dhaka North City Corporation, Bangladesh Dairy Farmers鈥� Association and other government agencies.
According to a data on their website, digitalhaat.gov.bd sold 56,821 animals in June 20鈥�28 in 2023, with a sale volume of Tk 422, 23,59,257.
This year at least 71 online animal markets were added to the platform for Eid to be celebrated on Monday.
鈥楲ast year we sold animals on behalf of the farmers who had a handful of cattle or goats. This year we only added selling farms to this platform,鈥� said Jahangir Alam Shovon, executive director of E-CAB, adding that this year they are not selling the animals of the very small farmers.
However, buyers are not showing much interest in buying large-sized animals this year due to high prices.
A visit to the Lalbagh cattle market in the capital on Saturday found that traders were spending lazy time as most buyers were seen leaving after hearing the prices of the animals.
Larger crowds were seen around small and medium sized cows for relatively lower prices.
Animals in the market mostly came from Natore and Manikganj, farmers said.
Small and medium sized bulls sold for between Tk 90, 000 up to Tk 2 lakh at the market.
Visitors to online cattle markets said that these platforms were offering detailed descriptions, high-resolution images, and even videos of the animals to enable them to choose the animal that suit them best in terms of prices and other features.聽
鈥楳any platforms are also offering a wide range of additional services鈥攔earing the sacrificial animals till Eid, slaughtering, meat processing and home delivery,鈥� said Sumon Ahmed, a resident of Dhanmondi.
Platfroms such as Sadeeq Agro, Meghdubi Agro, Khaas Food and Bengal Meat have become popular choices for buyers, offering a wide range of cattle options, from local breeds to foreign ones.
Sadeeq Agro sold 28 bulls for this Eid with its online selling platform Agromukam.
According to Sadeeq Agro, they set Tk 500 for per kilogram live weight cattle, which was an important guideline to set steady price tags for both the customers and farmers.
About 1,200 animals have been advertised on Meghdubi Agro Farm this year, a large number of which have already been sold, while Samrai Cattle Farm has showcased 300 cattle.
Online market insiders observed a rise in 鈥楤haag鈥� (shared Qurbani) this year, which allowed people to purchase meat portions according to their budget.
Apart from these platforms, there are hundreds of traders selling cattle through pages on social media platforms especially on Facebook and YouTube.
However, experts have advised caution when buying or selling animals through Facebook, as it is difficult to verify identities and one can be cheated.
A total of 20 animal markets, including two permanent haats, began operations on June 13, under the Dhaka South City Corporation and the Dhaka North City Corporation for the five-day official trade of sacrificial animals for Eid-ul-Azha.
