Treatment is ongoing in Chattogram for 34 horses rescued from an illegal slaughterhouse in Gazipur. The treatment for the horses is being carried out through a joint initiative of Chattogram’s AK Khan Group and an organisation called “Obhoyaronno – Bangladesh Animal Welfare Foundation.”
A team of veterinarians has been appointed on the initiative of the AK Khan Group. Concurrently, a team of doctors from a voluntary organisation, “Bangladesh Animal Care Center,” has come from Dhaka to provide treatment.
Visiting the AK Khan family’s bungalow on Tuesday, it was seen that the doctors were busy treating the injured, near-death horses. All the horses had numbered tags hung around their necks. Some had problems with their eyes, others with their legs.
The head of the medical team, Dr Mohammad Zahirul Islam, said the condition of horse number 1 is bad. Another horse is pregnant. He said blood samples are being taken to check the biochemical profile of all the horses. “We are working to diagnose what disease each one has.”
Working with him are Dr Md Russell and Dr Zaif Mahmud.
Additionally, Dr Subrata Sarkar and Dr Nusrat Jahan are working voluntarily from the Bangladesh Animal Care Center in Dhaka.
Last Friday night, 35 horses were brought from Dhaka to the AK Khan Group’s bungalow in Chattogram. Describing the horses’ condition as near-death at that time, Dr Mohammad Zahirul Islam said, “We started treatment after the horses arrived here. All the horses were injured. One horse died. We were able to save the rest.”
He said, “Most of these horses will take at least 4 to 6 months to recover. Some might even take a year. The diagnosis will be completed within the next 2 days. We suspect they have hyperplasia.”
He further said, “These horses are traumatised. They have not received good treatment from people. It is assumed they were gathered in one place to be slaughtered.”
Speaking about adopting these horses once they are healthy was Sherfenaz Khan, deputy managing director of AKS KHAN HOLDINGS. She told TIMES of Bangladesh, “We are serving these animals from a humanitarian perspective, not for any business purpose. After they fully recover, we are thinking of giving them up for adoption to those who will not use them for business, will not make them work, who will provide adequate care and arrange for their food. And to those who are humane and have compassion for animals.”
She further said, “People must be cautious about buying meat. Many of the diseases that have emerged over the last 100 years come from farming. If people start eating horse, cat, and dog meat like this, destruction is certain.”
Talking to the people caring for the horses, it was learned that besides medicine, they are being fed 350 to 400kg of fresh grass and 330 to 350kg of granular feed daily.
Previously, on 4 November around 10 PM, the Gazipur District Administration, Department of Livestock Services, RAB-1, and Police conducted a joint raid in the Hyderabad area and rescued 37 horses. Among them, 2 died.
The remaining 35 were sent to Chattogram. One died in Chattogram. Members of the AK Khan Group, Obharoyanno and Bangladesh Animal Care Center are continuing their efforts to restore the health of the remaining 34 horses.
