A longstanding shortage of butchers in the United States has made it increasingly difficult for Bangladeshi immigrants to obtain their sacrificial meat during Eid-ul-Adha. Each year, thousands of expatriates face frustration and delay—many end up serving guests store-bought meat on Eid day and receive their actual qurbani meat two to three days later. Over time, this delay has become a norm for the diaspora.
There are more than 38,000 livestock farms across the U.S. that take sacrificial orders, but the meat from these orders often isn’t delivered until two to three days after Eid. Despite the predictable inconvenience, Bangladeshi immigrants across various states continue to place joint orders for cows and individual orders for goats from these farms. On Eid day, thousands of animals are slaughtered on each farm, following a serial number system. As a result, only a few receive their meat on Eid day, while most wait several days.
About 35% of Bangladeshi immigrants in the U.S. participate in collective cow sacrifices and individual goat sacrifices. Not just Bangladeshis—Muslims from all backgrounds in the U.S. visit farms as early as a month before Eid to book animals by weight. After Eid prayers, many rush to farms, only to wait all day for their turn in the slaughter queue. When their turn doesn’t come, they return home empty-handed and try again the next day. This chase for sacrificial meat has become an annual ordeal.
Thousands of Bangladeshi immigrants from states like New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Connecticut, North Carolina, Ohio, Minnesota, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont start visiting farms well ahead of Eid to book cows jointly and goats individually by weight.
However, widespread allegations of meat theft under the guise of waste disposal are common across these farms. Many report that, instead of the usual one-third waste, up to two-thirds of the cow is labeled as waste and discarded—leaving buyers shocked. Though such incidents are not new, they recur every year. Many now believe these are clever tactics to steal sacrificial meat.
Experienced grocery workers say that even after removing the skin, intestines, and other non-meat parts, only about one-third of a cow’s weight should be discarded. But in many farms, much more is reportedly discarded, disappointing devout Muslims from many backgrounds. Complaints are often met with threats from farm owners, such as delaying or denying the customer’s animal slaughter altogether, preventing people from speaking out.
Large farms in the U.S. house up to 15,000 cattle, and medium-to-small farms raise between 1,000 to 5,000. Altogether, roughly 39 million cattle are slaughtered annually in the country. A single share in a sacrificial cow costs about $250.
Tofayel Ahmed, a Bangladeshi immigrant in New York, said he resumed offering sacrifice last year after a break. He had weighed a cow at 1,560 pounds at a farm two weeks before Eid. But on Eid day, after removing waste, he received only 560 pounds of meat—suggesting nearly 1,000 pounds were discarded, which he called “unbelievable” and unprecedented.
He also noted that even at local groceries, meat is stolen in the name of discarding excess fat. Abdur Rahman, an immigrant from Connecticut, said disagreements often arise if he fails to join his partners at the farm on time. Once the meat is brought home, cutting it into pieces is another hassle. He prefers to buy meat from New York groceries in advance and celebrate Eid that way. Still, he sends money home each year for sacrifices in Bangladesh.
Due to a severe shortage of skilled butchers across more than 38,000 U.S. livestock farms, around 30% of Bangladeshi immigrants fail to receive their sacrificial meat on Eid day. Many celebrate Eid with store-bought meat and receive the actual qurbani meat only two to three days later.