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Prices of large animals go up
Saturday, November 28, 2009
By Ali Raza
LAHORE
NATION will celebrate Eidul Azha on Saturday (today) with religious enthusiasm, which will renew the spirits of sacrifice among people especially in the wake of ongoing terrorism and difficulties being faced by the country.
As the residents of the cultural capital of Pakistan, Lahore, tried to lead every celebration, this year they are also doing the same by decorating their sacrificial animals and planning about distribution of meat among their relatives, friends and the poor.
On the other hand, the prices of sacrificial animals stayed at the higher side and a large number of people postponed their plans to buy a sacrificial animal. Instead of individually buying a sacrificial animal, a large number of people bought a share in animals to perform this religious obligation.
A survey of different city areas and markets of sacrificial animals revealed that the number of buyers has increased a little but majority of them were searching for a calf or a cow so that they can sacrifice the animal by pooling in their money. This has resulted in further increase in the prices of calves and cows.
Earlier, a calf was available at Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 but after the trend, its prices increased more and on Friday calves were being sold for over Rs 25,000. The prices of cows also witnessed a similar trend.
Last year, a camel was available for Rs 50,000 to Rs 80,000 but this year, the prices of camels are also very high and these are available between Rs 150,000 to Rs 250,000 each. Traders selling camels said that they paid a lot of care and spent money on raising a camel and the present high transportation cost and other expenses were the factors behind this increase.
Mushtaq, a trader of sacrificial animals said the sale of animals gained a little momentum but the response was not very good. “I spent over Rs 200,000 to bring my animals to Lahore from Rahimyar Khan and here people just ask price and leave,” he said. He maintained that interested buyers quote very low prices, which were not acceptable for the traders.
On the other hand, buyers are of the view that the prices of sacrificial animals are out of their reach. On Friday, a 20 kilograms goat or lamb was available at Rs 18,000 to Rs 25,000 while a medium size calf was being sold at Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000.
Tariq, a resident of Township said he pooled in Rs 4500 with his other relatives and bought a cow. He said the prices of goats were very high and people could not afford to buy a goat on their own. He said in his neighbourhood several people pooled in their money and bought calves and cows and the trend was increasing. He said last year individual share was Rs 3,500 while this year it was around Rs 4,500.
Other than the high prices of sacrificial animals, butchers have also started demanding exorbitant rates. Last year, the cost of slaughtering a goat was around Rs 700 while this year butchers were demanding Rs 1,500. In posh localities, this rate was touching Rs 3,000 per goat/lamb. For a cow, butchers were demanding Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 and for a camel they were demanding Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000.
Residents of Lahore flayed this increase in the service charges of butchers and asked the authorities of City District Government Lahore (CDGL) to solve this issue. Following the shortage of butchers, several individuals who knew how to slaughter an animal have also jumped in the field and were charging the same rates.
The prices of knives, wooden blocks and other items used for slaughtering an animal have also observed a sharp increase. People said the price of every item related to the event has increased but their pays, salaries and income remained the same.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
