Holy Eid-ul-Azha is knocking on the door and the main attraction of this Eid is the sacrifice. Animal markets have already started to be set up in different parts of the country on the occasion of the sacrifice. Cattle markets of the capital are also ready. The sale of cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep and dumba has already started in different parts of the country. Many traders are preparing to bring cattle to the capital's markets. The festival has immense contribution to meeting the protein demand and nourishment of poverty-stricken people. It brings unbelievable smiles on the faces of poor and the extreme poor who suffer from malnutrition as regular intake of meat is rare to them.

In our country, cows predominate in sacrifice and the demand for sacrifice is met with cows. On this occasion, some unscrupulous traders mixed fattening ingredients with cow's food and raised the cows. They use different types of tablets with cow-feed to fatten the cows in a short time in the hope of extra profit. Prohibited injections applied to muscles, which are fatally harmful to both cows and public health.

Indian dexamethasone injection is applied to the artificially fattened cow's muscle and various tablets of the steroid group are fed. Cows are very calm when they are given steroid tablets or dexamethasone injections. Can't move properly. The thighs of cows seem much more fleshy. Excess hormones make the whole body look fat. If it puts pressure on the body of the cow with a finger, it will become a hole. It is also possible to confirm whether the cow has been fed tablets by looking at her breathing. Cows breathe faster when fed tablets.

But it is a matter of disappointing scenario in the country's cattle market during Eid-ul-Azha that some unscrupulous cattle traders inject some banned steroid hormone into animals in order to fatten them. The traders are doing it to make more profits shortly. Cow becomes fat for irrational use of steroid hormone within a short period of time because steroid hormone damages its kidney-liver and the fluid in the animal body cannot pass and cells accumulate water which virtually seems to be fat, but cows become infected with diabetes and other diseases.

Various antibiotics, growth hormones, steroids and other harmful chemicals are being widely used for fattening sacrificial animals. These drugs, mostly smuggled from India, are sold openly in the local shops in the absence of monitoring by government agencies. There is a demand of about 12 million cattle for sacrifice across the country every year, which is increasing at a rate of 5-10 percent compared to the previous year. If cattle can be prepared in a planned manner according to the demand of the country, then there is no need to fatten the cows artificially. In this case, cattle farmers can be given incentives.

Ignorance among farmers of the proper use of steroid and profit-hunting addiction of the traders are major concerns. Dexamethasone which is used to fatten cows is, in fact, meant to be used to activate dying patients. Steroids such as Diclofenac, Oradexason, Steron, Decason, Adam Cortan, Cortisol, Hydrocortisol, etc are used for cow fattening with an excessive use of urea in fodder. This may be an adverse impact of globalisation. So, the production and marketing of cattle have been trapped into business crime.

Food and drug administration authorities of various developed countries have already banned these steroids earlier for their adverse side-effects on human health. But these items, which are generally used for saving the lives of critical patients, are now being injected into cows, goats and other sacrificial animals to fatten them.

Under this unscientific fattening method, an animal is fed with 20 to 25 tablets and it creates abnormal pressure on kidney and other organs as the drug slowly affects the normal circulation of urine that within a few days the cattle looks fat. Interestingly, the rapid method of cattle fattening even may cause death of the animal within 20-25 days after giving the drug. On the other hand, about scientific cattle fattening method, which is called natural fattening system, the cattle is to feed right proportion of urea, molasses and straw daily for about six months.

In the light of fundamental principles of the sacrifice of animals, unnaturally fattened cow meat being contaminated is not pure. These cows are being slaughtered and the infection is being transmitted to humans. The inevitable effect of contaminated meat affects human kidneys, liver, lungs and other organs, destabilises hormonal balance of pregnant woman and damages the natural immune system. Even long-time boiling of such meat cannot reduce the poisonous effect. If meat of such infected animal is taken, the liver gets enlarged. The most awful changes will take place among children and women. Children will gain obesity at very early stage and they develop many diseases with high blood cholesterol. Consequently, health hazard causes burden on the medical treatment cost and the economy as a whole.

Experts say steroid variants like Decason, Oradexon, Prednisolon, Betnenal, Cortan, Steron and Adam-33 are usually used as life-saving drugs for critical patients. But when fed to cattle, these drugs damage their heart, kidney and liver, and eventually cause death. But the reality is that people are consuming such contaminated meat year after year during the period of Eid-ul-Azha knowingly and unknowingly and spending money for medicine from the recovery of their newly-developed diseases.

The cows which look extremely fat and stand in one position, not moveable, are the symptoms of  fatten cows. People should not to buy such type of large and healthy cows because such cows are fattened through banned steroid.

Looking at the history of cow fattening, artificial hormones have been applied in different countries of the world for a long time. In most cases, the hormone is injected into the cow's muscles or buried under the skin of the ear. This hormone, which is buried under the skin of the ear, slowly enters the body at a certain level. Artificially made estrogen and testosterone injections were used more than once. It is known that in the seventies, it was banned when a component of this hormone, diethylstilbestrol, was found to cause vaginal cancer. Meanwhile, the use of this hormone has also been questioned after it was finalized that breast cancer is linked to estrogen. On the other hand, in 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of this synthetic hormone to increase the milk and growth of cows, but several countries, including the European Union and Canada, did not approve it. However, some studies have shown that hormone use is harmful to cows. The use of these hormones increases the tendency of different types of infections in cows. As a result, cows have to be given different types of antibiotics. Residues of antibiotics are also present in beef.

According to an animal journal, greedy farmers had used tablets in 2012 to fatten 63.7 percent cattle, while a research conducted by the Bangladesh Agricultural University showed that 70.60 percent cattle were fattened in 2014 using steroids. The experts believe that the actual numbers, however, might be even more than the above figure. Use of these steroids and hormones in animals are prohibited in the country according to the Animal Feed Act-2010. For violating this law, a person might face up to one year's imprisonment or up to Tk 50,000 in fine or both. But, the dishonest cattle farmers don't' bother that considering huge profit within short time. It should be stopped to avoid the health hazards.

The authorities concerned should plan ahead of Eid-ul-Azha to tackle these issues seriously, and ensure that the day of sacrifice is one which does not put people's any health at risk.

Writer: Banker and Columnist