Sheep draw few buyers at Bangladesh's Eid markets despite religious approval

On 27 May 2026, the day before Eid-ul-Azha, Jagonews24 published a special report by Khairul Bashar Ashik on a familiar but little-discussed scene at Bangladesh's sacrificial animal markets. When Eid comes, crowds swell at the markets, and cows, goats and buffaloes draw bargaining, talk and a festive mood. While the markets ring with calls, a few sheep stand quietly in a corner. No one gathers around them, no one takes photographs, and bargaining over them is slow. The report said that sheep often go unsold after days at a market, and when one or two are sold, the price falls short of what the farmer hoped for.

The report asked a simple question: in Islamic sharia the sheep is a fully valid and acceptable animal for sacrifice, so why is demand for it at Qurbani relatively low in Bangladesh, and why can farmers who raise sheep in open fields and on river chars not feel hopeful even in the sacrifice season? In the reporter's words, the answer reveals a complex picture of religious perceptions, social culture, economic realities and human psychology. Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated in Bangladesh that year on Thursday, 28 May; the National Moon Sighting Committee had announced the date on the evening of 18 May.

According to the Jagonews report, a strong social culture has grown up around Qurbani in Bangladesh alongside religious feeling, and at its centre is the urge to buy a "big animal". For many, the sacrificial animal is not only part of a religious practice but also a sign of social standing, economic means and family prestige.

Md. Salauddin, a trader at a cattle market in the capital, told the reporter: "People still think a big cow means a big sacrifice. If you sacrifice a sheep, many may think you cannot afford more. It is even clearer in rural areas. So if they can afford it, people choose a cow, not a sheep." He added: "Bringing a big cow home, showing it to the neighbours, relatives talking about it, all of this often creates an atmosphere of social competition around Qurbani. So most families that can afford it choose a cow, and those with less choose a goat. The sheep falls into an almost invisible middle position."

Other reports from that week showed the same pull. Prothom Alo reported from Gabtoli market on 24 May that a bull named "Kalo Jamai", brought from Kasba in Brahmanbaria, weighed 1,500 kg and was being offered at Tk 55 lakh; "Lal Badshah" from Chuadanga was priced at Tk 50 lakh, and "Nawab" from Kushtia at Tk 13.5 lakh. The same report said animals are traded at Gabtoli all year round and that it is the only permanent market of Dhaka North City Corporation; 21 temporary markets were due to open in the capital that day for Eid. The Business Standard's Bangla edition reported on 21 May that traders were arriving in Dhaka early to secure places at market entrances and in the front rows, where buyers look first.

The Jagonews report said that under Islamic rules a sheep that has reached the required age is fully valid for sacrifice, that one sheep can be sacrificed on behalf of one person, and that religiously its importance is no less than that of a cow or a goat. Two pieces on the religion page of The Daily Ittefaq before Eid set out the commonly followed rulings. The piece of 25 May said the sacrificial animal must be a domesticated four-legged animal, citing verse 34 of Surah Al-Hajj and its term "bahimatul an'am" (livestock); on that basis camels, cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep and dumba (fat-tailed sheep) are valid, while ducks, chickens, deer and other wild animals are not.

On age, sheep and dumba have a special allowance. According to Ittefaq's piece of 19 May, a camel must be at least five years old, cattle and buffaloes two years, and a goat one year. Sheep and dumba normally need one year as well, but a six-month-old sheep or dumba that looks as well grown as a one-year-old is also valid. A sheep or dumba under six months is not valid, and there is no such allowance for goats. The piece cited hadith 1963 of Sahih Muslim as the basis, in which Jabir reports the Prophet (PBUH) as saying that only a grown animal should be sacrificed, unless that is difficult, in which case a younger ram may be sacrificed.

Several of the hadith accounts the Jagonews report mentions appear clearly in the hadith collections. In hadith 5565 of Sahih al-Bukhari, Anas narrates that the Prophet (PBUH) sacrificed two horned rams, black and white in colour, slaughtering them with his own hands while saying Allah's name and the takbir. Hadith 1966 of Sahih Muslim gives the same account. In hadith 5553 of Sahih al-Bukhari, Anas says the Prophet (PBUH) used to sacrifice two rams, and that he too sacrificed two rams. Cattle and camels, by contrast, can be shared: in hadith 1318 of Sahih Muslim, Jabir reports that in the year of Hudaibiya they sacrificed a camel on behalf of seven people and a cow on behalf of seven. Ittefaq's 25 May piece likewise said up to seven people may share a cow, buffalo or camel. The same piece said that, according to hadiths 1497 and 1498 of Jami at-Tirmidhi, an animal too weak to walk, or one with more than half of an ear or the tail cut off, is not valid for sacrifice.

Despite these rulings, the Jagonews report said misconceptions persist. Some people believe that sacrificing a sheep is "less important" or earns "less reward", a belief with no religious basis. According to the report, religious speakers say Islam gives weight not to the size of the animal but to intention, piety and means, though that message has not yet reached much of society. Maulana Rashedul Islam, khatib of a mosque in Dhaka, told the reporter: "The essence of Qurbani in Islam is piety and ability, not the size or market value of the animal. But a competitive culture has developed in society in which big animals are given more importance."

The report said that in many Muslim countries sheep and dumba are far more popular for sacrifice than in Bangladesh. Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia, have a long tradition of sacrificing sheep, and many families there prefer sheep or dumba to cattle. In Pakistan, too, dumba are highly valued at Qurbani, and large, well-shaped dumba are sometimes seen as a status symbol.

Many people in Bangladesh think sheep and dumba are the same animal, but they differ. The dumba is a type of sheep known in English as the fat-tailed sheep. According to Wikipedia, these sheep have large tails and hindquarters, make up about 25 per cent of the world's sheep, and are found mostly in northern Africa, the Middle East, and across Central Asia to China. The tail fat acts as a food reserve in harsh, dry conditions and is an important ingredient in many regional cuisines. A 2022 review by scientists of the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) also notes that about a quarter of the world's sheep are fat-tailed breeds and that the tail helps the animals adapt to extreme environments.

According to Jagonews, the dumba has a large fatty tail and is bigger and more striking to look at, while the local sheep is usually small and considered less attractive. So while dumba can draw some interest at the sacrifice markets, the ordinary local sheep has not won the same social acceptance. Jagonews photographer Saiful Haque Mithu photographed dumba at a market in the capital for the report.

According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) publication "Livestock Economy at a Glance (2023-2024)", Bangladesh had 39.03 lakh sheep in fiscal 2023-24. Ten years earlier, in 2014-15, the figure was 32.70 lakh, and it rose a little each year: 36.07 lakh in 2019-20 and 38.27 lakh in 2022-23. The same table puts cattle at 250.13 lakh, goats at 271.17 lakh and buffaloes at 15.24 lakh in 2023-24. In number, then, sheep lag far behind goats and cattle, though they outnumber buffaloes. Banglapedia also ranks native sheep third among the country's ruminants and says they are raised almost entirely for meat.

Banglapedia says native sheep make very efficient use of low-quality roughage, are well adapted to hot and humid conditions, can lamb twice a year with multiple births, and tolerate many of the common diseases found in Bangladesh. There are three types of native sheep: Jamuna Basin, Barind and Coastal.

Jamuna Basin sheep are small: adult males weigh 18 to 25 kg and females 15 to 22 kg. They are found in Tangail, Sirajganj, Gaibandha, Sherpur, Jamalpur, Mymensingh and Dhaka, especially along the Jamuna, and give birth to one to four lambs at a time. Barind sheep are somewhat larger, with males at 22 to 30 kg and females at 15 to 25 kg, and are found in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Natore and Naogaon. Coastal sheep are the largest of the three, with males at 25 to 32 kg and females at 18 to 26 kg, and are found in Patuakhali, Bhola, Hatiya, Noakhali, Chattogram and Lakshmipur. Banglapedia adds that the Indian Muzaffarabadi or Nagpuri breed is also found in Bangladesh, where it is wrongly called Garole.

The BLRI scientists' review says most sheep in the country are native, non-descript types, with a few exotics and crossbreds. There have been earlier attempts to improve them: the Lohi breed from Pakistan was brought in 1965, the Romney Marsh from New Zealand in 1976, and the Suffolk and Perendale from Australia in 1984 to crossbreed with coastal sheep, but none of these programmes lasted long. In 2016 BLRI imported Suffolk, Perendale and Dorper sheep from Australia to produce crossbreds and improve the output of native sheep. The review warns that exotic and crossbred sheep entering illegally across the border into districts such as Meherpur, Chuadanga and Chapainawabganj disrupt planned breeding and risk eroding the genetic resource of native sheep.

According to the Jagonews report, low demand hits the country's marginal sheep keepers hardest, especially people in char areas, open fields and coastal regions who have kept sheep for years to make a living. Small farmers and poor families in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bhola and other areas raise sheep in the open. Because sheep can be kept cheaply on char grass, open fields or crop residues, they are an important source of income for poor households.

Before Eid, the reporter met one such farmer at Gabtoli market in Dhaka. Afternoon was turning to evening; there were crowds in front of the rows of cattle, calls over the loudspeakers and the bustle of bargaining. A little way off sat Abdul Halim, a farmer from Char Fasson in Bhola, holding a rope, with four sheep beside him. Many people had looked at them since morning, but only two had made an offer. "I raise the sheep all year, grazing them in the fields, thinking I will get a good price at Eid," Abdul Halim said. "But at the market I see people look at cows first, then goats. Many don't even look at the sheep." He complained that many buyers want to offer very low prices: "Some offer prices that make it seem this is not a sacrificial animal at all."

Hosne Ara Begum, a farmer from the char areas, described a similar experience to the reporter. Raising a good-quality sheep takes real time and labour, she said, but with low demand it is often hard even to recover the cost, and without fair prices many are gradually losing interest in sheep.

Bhola, Abdul Halim's district, is one of the districts where Banglapedia places the coastal sheep. Yet the pre-Eid market reports from Bhola spoke of other animals. bdnews24.com reported on 25 May that at the markets of Bhola Sadar, Char Fasson, Lalmohan and Borhanuddin, small, medium and large cattle, and above all local breeds, were most in demand, and that demand was relatively high for locally raised cattle, buffaloes and goats. Farmers there said the cost of feed and care had risen that year. The daily Jugantor reported on 20 May that, according to the Char Fasson upazila livestock office, 25,091 animals had been prepared for Qurbani on the upazila's 186 cattle farms, 82 buffalo farms and 24 goat farms, and that seven medical teams were visiting villages every day to advise households and farmers. Sheep were not listed separately among those farms.

Even with weak demand at Qurbani, earlier reports showed how sheep had changed the fortunes of some families as a year-round source of income. Prothom Alo reported on 27 February 2024 from Ikorchali union in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur that a woman farmer of Pramanikpara village had started in March 2013 with one sheep bought for Tk 1,000. In the previous year she had sold 21 sheep for Tk 1,10,000, and she had 25 sheep at the time of the report. Following her example, about 300 women in her village and four others nearby had taken up sheep rearing. The upazila livestock officer, Fazlul Karim, told Prothom Alo then that sheep rearing was most common in several villages of Ikorchali union and that the livestock department was advising the keepers.

Prothom Alo reported on 10 December 2023 from the Shakhahati char in Chilmari upazila of Kurigram that a retired army member had set up a farm there in September 2022 of sheep known locally as "garol"; it held 142 animals at the time of the report, and a five-month-old lamb sold for Tk 10,000 to 12,000. Kurigram's district livestock officer, Monakka Ali, said then that the garol is essentially a breed of sheep, that it was first raised in Bangladesh in the Rajshahi region, and that Kurigram's terrain suits it. These examples from the chars show that while sheep are cheap to keep, profit depends on the market for selling them, and at Qurbani that market is narrowest for sheep.

In the government's figures before Eid-ul-Azha 2026, sheep were counted together with goats. Jagonews24 reported on 3 May that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock told a press conference that 1 crore 23 lakh 33 thousand animals were available for sacrifice that year, against a likely demand of 1,01,06,334. The animals available comprised 56,95,878 cattle and buffaloes, 66,32,307 goats and sheep, and 5,655 animals of other species. In 2025, 1,24,47,337 animals had been available and 33.10 lakh were left over after Qurbani.

The press conference also said that, because the country had more animals than it needed, none would be imported for Qurbani; that special trains would carry animals from the north through Dhaka to Chattogram; and that 3,678 markets would be held across the country with veterinary teams. No toll or market fee would be charged on animals sold online.

The picture was similar at division level. BSS reported from Rangpur on 7 May that, according to the divisional livestock office, demand for sacrificial animals in Rangpur division was 14,06,657 against 20,23,067 animals available, leaving 5,56,410 surplus, and that goats and sheep among the prepared animals numbered more than 3 lakh. By district, Kurigram had 3,36,919 animals against a demand of 2,61,246, and Gaibandha 1,77,900 against 1,37,500. The same report said that because local and crossbred cattle were most in demand at Qurbani, farmers had begun fattening such cattle months earlier. Figures that put goats and sheep in one line do not show how many sheep were offered or sold at Qurbani.

The Jagonews report said some upper- and middle-class families in cities like Dhaka were showing interest in sheep, but that interest was still limited. One reason is that people are less familiar with sheep meat and have not developed the habit of cooking it, and many think one sheep does not give enough meat for a large family. Afsana Rahman, a resident of Mohammadpur in the capital, told the reporter: "The idea that Eid morning means fried beef liver, nihari, rezala or kacchi is deeply rooted in many families. We don't eat sheep meat regularly, so a cow feels more comfortable for the sacrifice."

Many believe sheep meat smells stronger. The report, citing livestock experts, said this depends largely on how the animals are raised and how the meat is cooked. The BLRI scientists' review likewise says that sheep are culturally less popular than goats because of negative messages about the flavour and quality of their meat, even though sheep and goat meat are close in characteristics and quality, and several studies found sheep meat juicier and more tender than goat meat. The review adds that under traditional rearing sheep are usually slaughtered at one to three years old at a live weight of 8 to 22 kg, but that for economic benefit the best slaughter age for native sheep is 6 to 9 months at 18.6 to 23.4 kg.

The report also named butchers' reluctance as a reason for low demand. Many butchers are used to slaughtering cattle or goats but have less experience with sheep, and there are complaints that it is hard to find a butcher for a sheep at Eid, so many families turn to cattle or goats to avoid the trouble. The social reality of sharing sacrificial meat also matters: the meat of one cow can easily be shared across a large family or community, but a sheep yields less, and many do not think it enough, especially in joint families and rural communities where there is pressure to send meat to many people.

The report also pointed to social media. At Eid, timelines on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok fill with videos of giant cattle, photographs of specially named bulls and talk of animals worth lakhs of taka. Online farms and traders mostly promote cattle, and sheep are almost absent, so for the younger generation, too, the cow has become the "attractive" sacrificial animal.

According to Jagonews, Bangladesh's sacrifice market has become a huge economic sector: transport, online marketing, the feed trade, temporary markets, digital promotion and farm branding have all grown up around cattle, but no such organised market exists for sheep. Farmers say the sheep sector remains marginal in bank loans, government support, market management and marketing.

Research points to the same obstacles. A review by BLRI scientist Md Rezaul Hai Rakib and colleagues, published in the Journal of Advanced Veterinary and Animal Research in December 2022, names the main constraints on sheep production in Bangladesh as scarce and costly feed and fodder, disease, lamb deaths and a poor marketing channel, along with the lower popularity of sheep meat compared with goat meat. According to the review, most sheep farmers had not received loans from any government or private body because they were small-scale or lacked assets to mortgage, and a lack of market information, low prices and the absence of organised markets for meat and wool are further obstacles.

On disease, the review calls PPR (peste des petits ruminants) the most lethal viral disease of small ruminants, with prevalence in sheep of 9.17 to 18.18 per cent in different parts of the country. It puts lamb mortality in native sheep at 12.4 per cent and found worm infections more common in free-grazing sheep. Farmers can seek advice on treatment and vaccination from their upazila livestock office.

The review also sets out the promise. Native sheep need little feed, tolerate harsh weather and resist disease well, and studies put their average litter size at 1.92 lambs. In some parts of Bangladesh sheep are called "the bank of the poor man", because they can be sold easily for cash when needed. The review says sheep cope with heat stress better than other ruminants, though cyclones, drought, heavy rain and unpredictable weather add to the risks of rearing them. The country produces about 2,500 tonnes of raw wool a year, most of which goes to waste for lack of processing.

The Jagonews report, citing experts, likewise said that because sheep survive on little feed, adapt easily to open environments and suffer relatively few diseases, they can play an important role on the chars and the coast, and could offer small farmers and landless families in river-erosion and drought-prone areas a sustainable livelihood. Livestock experts quoted there said that properly raised and processed sheep meat has good taste and nutritional value, but that long-term planning is lacking in research, market development, breed improvement and marketing for sheep. Those involved said that if the sheep were accepted as a religiously valid and affordable sacrificial animal, marginal farmers would benefit and the sacrifice market would become more diverse.

Photo: A S M Jobaer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: Jagonews24 (27 May and 3 May 2026), Prothom Alo (24 May 2026, 27 February 2024 and 10 December 2023), The Daily Ittefaq (19 May and 25 May 2026), BSS (7 May 2026), bdnews24.com (25 May 2026), The Daily Jugantor (20 May 2026), The Business Standard Bangla (21 May 2026), Bangla Tribune (18 May 2026), Department of Livestock Services (Livestock Economy at a Glance 2023-2024), Journal of Advanced Veterinary and Animal Research (December 2022), Banglapedia, Sunnah.com (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim), Wikipedia