Bull fattening essential but not in improper way

---

Neil Ray A daily newspaper has carried in its back page a few picture of bulls -all in agony with their frames helplessly sprawling on the ground and the four legs protruding sideways. The animals, however, look apparently healthy. One cannot be blamed for thinking that exhaustion of long travel may have caused these animals to collapse. But a closer look at the caption delivers a reader almost a mortal shock. It says that the bulls were fattened by applying steroid in their feed. Overuse of the banned substance has helped add a few pounds of flesh to their bodies rather too soon at the cost of their sound health. No wonder, the bulls have broken down long before they could find a customer on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha. The caption ends on a note of uncertainty where the matter has been left to guesswork -who knows if they (bulls) survive or not. This type of fattening was unheard of in the past. With every passing year, though, the number of steroid-fattened heifers or bulls has been going up. Death from such artificial fattening of cattle is not quite uncommon. People look for healthy sacrificial animals on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. Those who are not aware of steroid-fattened bulls or he-goats are likely to be deceived by the look and may count losses on account of the animals' death before the ritual of sacrifice has been performed. Even if this undesirable development does not take place, one cannot be sure how safe it is to eat the meat of such animals. Even medicine containing steroid should be avoided unless it is absolutely necessary to save life or cure an almost incurable disease. Steroid leaves its long-term or even permanent effect on human body and mind. Let medical experts come forward to explain how steroid-enhanced beef or mutton affects human body or not. Fattening of bull is more than an art. Many countries have opted for extensive scientific research in order to raise meat production. Fattened after the latest models followed by some of the advanced countries, as against fed traditionally, cattle can give 30-40 per cent more meat. So the process of fattening bulls or goats makes a strong economic sense. One would be happy to say that bull fattening has developed as an acceptable method in this country. The hard truth is that it has remained a neglected territory here. In the absence of an acceptable and systematic form of bull or goat fattening, laymen have been using harmful agents like steroids or urea fertiliser for fattening young bulls or heifers. There is however no need for such artificial fattening of these animals. It is a complete package that involves all the basic features for cattle rearing -- ranging from hygienic shed construction to arrangement of trough and of course selection of breed and feed. Also, the practice of beginning a cycle of fattening and ending it has to be perfected. Instead of adopting such a long-term process, the cattle raisers or traders have opted for an easy way out. Their short-cut method involves use of fertiliser-treated feed or direct use of steroid, the course of which is started two to three months before the animals are prepared for the Eid market. The result at times proves fatal as is clear from the pictures carried in the newspaper mentioned earlier. This is a dangerous development. People must be made aware of its harmful effects. But then the need for fattening bulls or other animals is economically beneficial. So there is a need for promotion of a proper way of bull fattening, in particular.