Identification of Hormone Use Pattern in Beef Fattening in Southwest Coastal Regions of Bangladesh

Abstract

The study was conducted to identify hormone use patterns in beef cattle fattening programs in three upazilas under three different districts of Bangladesh. Data were collected from ninety (90) respondents involved in cattle farming through a questionnaire survey. Socio-economic characteristics of the respondents were also investigated. The results indicated that the majority (61.1%) of the respondents were middle-aged, while 21.1% were old-aged and 17.8% were young. Regarding educational status, 46.7% had secondary-level education, followed by graduate or above (15.6%), illiterate (12.2%), primary education (12.2%), higher secondary education (11.1%), and only 2.2% could sign their names. The majority (57.8%) of the respondents belonged to the high-income group, followed by the medium-income group (26.7%) and low-income group (15.6%). About 18.9% of the respondents had marginal farms, 24.4% had small farms, 8.9% were landless, 27.8% had medium-sized farms, and 20% had large farms. The average farming experience of respondents in Dumuria Upazila was higher than that of the other study areas (approximately 19.5 years), whereas the average cattle-farming experience was highest in Tala Upazila (approximately 18 years). About 21.1% of the respondents had no farming experience, while 53.3% had long-term farming experience. The majority (48.9%) had long-term experience in cattle farming, followed by medium-term (32.2%) and short-term experience (18.9%). Most respondents (64.4%) belonged to the high-income group from cattle rearing, followed by medium (23.3%) and low income groups (10.0%). About 58.9% of the respondents had not received any training on beef fattening, while 41.1% had received short-term training. The majority (87.8%) possessed medium-level knowledge about cattle rearing, whereas 8.9% had high knowledge and 3.3% had low knowledge. Regarding attitudes toward beef cattle fattening, 66.7% of respondents showed a moderately positive attitude and 33.3% showed a highly positive attitude. Most respondents (71.1%) purchased cattle for fattening throughout the year, while 20% purchased occasionally and 8.9% used their own cattle. About 40% sold cattle during Eid-ul-Azha, 33.3% sold cattle throughout the year, and 26.7% sold cattle both during Eid and at other times. More than half of the respondents (53.3%) practiced fattening for more than one year, while 38.9% fattened cattle for 9–12 months, 5.6% for 3–5 months, and 2.2% for 6–8 months. Most respondents (90%) vaccinated their cattle regularly, while 5.6% vaccinated occasionally and 4.4% did not vaccinate their cattle. The majority (63.3%) preferred crossbred cattle for fattening, while 36.7% used indigenous cattle. About 58.9% purchased cattle for fattening and 41.1% used their own cattle. Artificial breeding was practiced by 82.2% of respondents, while 13.3% used both natural and artificial methods and 4.4% used only natural breeding. Most respondents (87.8%) treated sick animals through local practitioners, while 12.2% consulted veterinarians. Record keeping was very limited, with 96.7% of respondents maintaining no records. Among the surveyed farmers, 84.4% were male and 15.6% were female. Visits to Upazila Livestock Offices were generally infrequent; 41.1% visited very rarely, 23.3% occasionally, 2.2% frequently, and 33.3% never visited. Most farmers (83.3%) faced moderate problems in cattle farming, while 15.5% faced severe problems and 1.1% faced minor problems. The study revealed that 63.3% of farmers did not use hormones for beef fattening, whereas 36.7% used growth hormones. Most respondents (87.8%) used antibiotics as growth promoters, while 12.2% did not. Furthermore, 97.8% of the farmers did not feed urea molasses straw (UMS) to fattening cattle, and only 2.2% used UMS. The study concluded that a considerable proportion of farmers used growth hormones and a large proportion used antibiotics for beef cattle fattening in the study areas, which may pose potential risks to public health.