YASIR WARDAD
The husbandry and veterinary professionals are at loggerheads over a recent decision of the fisheries and livestock ministry (MoFL) to enact a separate act to form an animal husbandry council.
Veterinarians usually deal with disease-related aspects of animals and their medication or surgery.
On the other hand, husbandry graduates are involved in controlled farming, management and production of domestic animals, including improvement of qualities considered desirable by humans by means of breeding.
A senior official said the MoFL at a December 17 meeting, chaired by secretary Dr Nahid Rashid, decided to enact a separate act for husbandry graduates following a massive change in value chain and demand pattern here in the last four decades.
The decision was primarily taken to prepare a draft act, which would be named the Bangladesh Animal Husbandry Council Act.
However, the Bangladesh Veterinary Association (BVA) held a press conference on Saturday at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the city opposing the MoFL move.
BVA secretary general Dr Muhammad Habibur Rahman Molla said his organisation was opposing the move for separate husbandry council act for the sake of the domestic livestock development.
Every profession related to animal and poultry has been included in the existing 'Bangladesh Veterinary Council Act 2019', which was enacted just a few years ago.
"So, the new Council Act would be confusing and against public interest," claimed Mr Molla.
He labelled the MoFL secretary as 'biased' as she is an animal husbandry graduate.
He demanded the removal of Dr Nahid so that no responsible official within the administration should do this kind of nepotism in the future.
Stakeholders in the sector, including Amar Jyoti Chakma, Dr SM Nazrul Islam, Dr Gopal Chandra, Md Shahidul Islam, Dr Mahbub Alam and Md Abdullah, were also present at the briefing.
Following further development of the cattle and poultry sector in the country, Dr Nahid said, the ministry took the decision to make a separate act for animal husbandry.
She said the veterinary association was opposing the move without any valid reason.
The secretary said earlier they opposed the formation of separate 'Dairy Development Board'.
"And in coming days, we're also going to form a separate poultry development board and they might also go against the decision."
According to Bangladesh Animal Husbandry Association (BAHA) president and former government secretary Zakir Hossain Akand, veterinarians deal with disease, disease control, medication or surgery.
But they incorporated meat production, management, nutrition and other husbandry aspects in the existing act, he said.
BAHA secretary general Dr Ashim Kumar Das
said, "Our demand pattern and overall value chain
are going through a
rapid change as demand
for meat has surged
50 times in the last four decades."
"We also have to ensure safest cattle and poultry meat, eggs and milk."
He said the new act would help specify the duty and role of a husbandry graduates.
He said only 9.0 per cent of the study syllabus of veterinarian deal with husbandry issues like meat production, management and nutrition.
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