When Eid ul Azha comes, the demand for butchers goes up. With the sudden rise in the need for people to cut meat, many who are engaged in other professions become temporary butchers.
Meat Traders’ Association says that compared to sacrificial animals, the number of professional butchers is 10 per cent.
It’s found that people mostly from low-income strata of 10-12 districts become parttime butchers during Eid ul Azha. Many are rickshaw-pullers, van drivers and day labourers.
They engage in this work for some additional income and to get free meat as part of the deal.
The non-professional butchers can be found in Karwan Bazaar, Kathal Bagan, Kalabagan, Science Laboratory and other areas and charge less than the fees of the professional butchers.
“We have come to Dhaka to work as butchers and make an extra earning,” said a butcher who has come from outside Dhaka.
These butchers usually come from Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Mymensingh, Bogura, Naogaon, Kishoreganj and Patuakhali.
To cut meat, the professional butchers take Tk 200 to Tk 250 per thousand on the total price of the sacrificed animal while non-professional ones work on contract and take Tk 100 per thousand of the total price of the cow.
Professional butchers finish the work in one and one and a half hours while the price falls as the day proceeds. After noon, their rate comes down to Tk 150.
Secretary general of Meat Traders’ Association, Rabiul Alam, adds: “During Eid, 5.5 million to 5.8 million cows are sacrificed with 3 million to 3.5 million goats/lambs and 90 per cent meat is cut by non-professional butchers since only ten per cent are professional.”
In the past, we trained non-professional butchers under the ministry of commerce and taught them about skinning, evisceration and other work. However, this was not done this year, he commented.
We are focusing in making meat export a first-rate sector; we are advertising to make people aware of the rules of animal sacrifice plus the fact that animal body parts can also be imported and therefore, meat is not the only important factor.