Eid-ul-Azha is just two days away, and cattle markets for Qurbani have come alive across the country, with buying and selling going on day and night.

Among the cattle brought to the markets, the number that are sick or carry harmful chemicals and drugs is not small. Professor Dr Mohammad Abul Hashem of the Department of Animal Science at Bangladesh Agricultural University says cattle fattened with steroids look glossy, plump and attractive, but they are not really fattened.

In cattle fattened with drugs, these harmful substances can remain in the meat even after cooking, and eating that meat carries a risk of disease. Recognising a healthy cow is therefore very important for safe meat.

Animal experts at Bangladesh Agricultural University advise buyers to watch for the following when buying a cow:

• In a cow given chemicals or drugs, the muscles and other parts of the body are abnormally swollen. Because water collects in the body, pressing on different parts leaves a dent that takes time to return to normal.
• Because of the excess weight, such cattle cannot move about or shift normally, and stay still.
• A cow given chemicals will be very tired and drowsy. A healthy cow is lively, reacts to what is happening around it and drives off mosquitoes and flies with its ears and tail.
• As the organs of a cow fed chemicals or drugs begin to fail, its breathing becomes rapid, as if it were panting.
• A cow given too much steroid will drool constantly and will not want to eat. A healthy cow will pull food held in front of its mouth and eat it, or else chew the cud.

Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.