Dubai: Kausar Khan, 28, is as dyed in the wool when it comes to his national cricket team as he is for all things Pakistani. Yet it doesn’t stop him and other Pakistani cattle traders and animal handlers at the Dubai Cattle Market from pinning their hopes on livestock arriving from India for a bumper Eid Al Adha.
It’s the same story for goat herder Mohammad Farooq. The 26-year-old is a happy man as India lifted a ban on exports of livestock on September 1.
The three-month seasonal export embargo by the Indian government is an annual affair every monsoon, but by the time it ended, says Farooq, most like him were left with barely a week to procure their stock ahead of Arafat Day on September 11. However, no one is complaining, he says. “With a long-standing ban on Pakistani livestock still intact, restrictions on import of Somali livestock coming in after last Eid Al Adha and few takers for the Australian breeds, our only hopes were these goats from India that landed this week.
“It was a bit nervy until then but we can now think of doing some business this Friday – the last day of Jumma (prayer day) before Eid next week,” explains the man from Dera Ghazi Khan district that’s home to an overwhelming majority of the animal handlers at the bustling marketplace off Beirut street in the Al Qusais Industrial Area.
Anticipation
“We had a relatively good Eid Al Adha season in 2015 after a couple of low-key years and we hope it will be the same this time too thanks to our stock of Indian goats,” said Abdullah, a goat handler at another shop in the Dubai Cattle Market that received 918,000 animals and 188,000 tons of animal feed last year. Eid Al Adha, beginning September 12 this year, is marked by sacrificing animals like goats, sheep, cows, bulls and camels but there is a reason why Indian goats and sheep remain the top draw, says Rasool Buqsh, 50.
“The meat is tender, tastes really good and is just perfect for this occasion and unlike last year, when there was a glut of several breeds, this is the choice of the hour,” says Buqsh who like most animal handlers is hoping to sell the bulk of his stock over the weekend. A 15-25kg Indian breed sells for anywhere between Dh500 and Dh1,500.
Meanwhile, authorities have urged residents not to slaughter animals at home or employ the services of illegal butchers.
