Livestock shandies in Manapparai, Siruvachur and Karur have been seeing vigorous sales of goats and sheep ahead of the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha (also known as Bakrid) this week, though traders reported dull business at Samaypuram market on Saturday.
“This year, with the Bakrid festival falling on Sunday, customers have already finished shopping for their qurbani (sacrificial) animals in advance in Sirvachur and Ayyanur, so there was not much footfall in Samayapuram,” Ramesh, a livestock contractor for the past 25 years at the market, told The Hindu. “We sold around 200 qurbani animals (weighing above 13 kg), and 2,000 smaller ones, for regular consumption on Saturday,” he said.
Buyers of qurbani animals prefer them to be hefty, yielding up to 30 kg of meat apiece. “Since Samayapuram traders brought only medium-sized goats and sheep (weighing less than 10 kg), they were priced at ₹8,000-₹10,000 each,” said Mr. Ramesh.
