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| The portrait of the Animal Husbandry Department Lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Dr. Ir. Ahmad Wahyudi, M. Kes. (Photo: Istimewa) |
As Eid al-Adha is around the corner, Muslims worldwide are preparing to perform Qurbani. One of the processes is choosing the exact and healthy animals. Notably, Islamic teaching emphasizes not carelessly choosing sacrificial animals. Therefore, Dr. Ir. Ahmad Wahyudi, M. Kes., the Animal Husbandry Department lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), shares his tips for selecting animals for Qurbani.
As he highlights, people must have healthy farm animals. The sacrificial animals allowed are cows, goats, sheep, and camels. The animals’ physical condition must also be considered, like not being deformed, blind, or lame.
“Usually, before Eid al-Adha, farm animals with problems like sickness will be treated three months in advance,” said Wahyudi.
The age of the livestock to be sacrificed must also meet the requirements. It can be seen from the condition of the permanent teeth on the lower jaw of the animal. Cattle with permanent teeth in the lower jaw are about two years old, while goats and sheep are about one year old.
Sacrificial animals must also be physically good-looking. Typically, their physical condition of them is seen from their body, clean coat, horns, and beard,” added the Lecturer.
However, a major issue has recently happened, affecting farmers of Qurbani animals. For example, the emergence of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) virus, which infects the animals’ mouths and hooves and makes them not want to eat and unable to stand. Additionally, skin diseases caused by the Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) virus can also affect the skin of livestock. People know it as the Lato-Lato virus.
Besides checking the animals’ body condition, prospective buyers must also notice the condition and cleanliness of where the animals are sold. The environmental state where they live will influence their health.
“The way to see whether a cow has worms or not is by looking at the hair on the backline, from the back of the neck until the back. If the hair stands up and looks dull, it means that the worms exist in the cow’s body. Thus, choose a cow whose hair falls and is not dull,” advised Wahyudi.
Lastly, Wahyudi says that native Indonesian cattle, like Maduranese, Balinese, and Javanese cows, are not susceptible to worms, compared to the ones crossed between local and European cattle, which are more vulnerable (to getting infected by worms).
“Local cattle are the superb choice for Qurbani because their bodies are more resistant to disease. It is because these animals have lived in their area for a long time, so they are worm-resistant,” concluded the Animal Husbandry Lecturer. (imh/sep/wil)
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