As the holiday approaches, livestock farmers have exhausted their supplies

Muharrem Yazıcı, who deals with animal husbandry in the Kemalpaşa district of Artvin, complained about increasing costs and decreasing income, and stated that he thought sales before the upcoming Eid al-Adha would be more sluggish compared to last year. Stating that dealing with animal husbandry has now become a major financial burden, Yazıcı noted the following:

''This is our grandfather's profession. Migration to the plateau starts in April, we are in the mountains until the end of December. In the winter, we stay inside for 70-80 days depending on the pasture conditions. This year I bought 15 tons of hay, a ton cost 15-16 thousand liras. I bought 8 tons of feed and 10 tons of grass. Do the math. It's a cure for 150-200 liras.'' Yazıcı, who said that the journey to the plateau was not easy, said that there was still snow on Bilbilan Mountain and that he had about 12 days left to reach his own plateau.

Yazıcı, who also touched upon the negative conditions experienced in animal markets during the sacrifice period, noted that he delivered the animals directly to the customer and said, ''Animals are miserable in the market in the heat, they are hungry and thirsty. I sell less, I sell whole. Sales are a bit stagnant this year. The price of sacrificial animals was 12-13 thousand liras last year, this year it is 14-15 thousand liras. Hay was 6 liras last year, now it is 15 liras. The prices of sacrificial animals were 12-13 thousand liras last year, this year it is 14-15 thousand liras. There is only a 1-2 thousand lira difference, but we cannot pay the feed price with this difference. If there is no movement in the sacrifice, we cannot handle this business.''

Yazıcı stated that they did not have great expectations from Eid al-Adha, but at least some vitality was needed to be able to pay off their debts, and said, “The expenses are high. We stay in tents 24/7. We are 3-4 people, we eat and drink. The dogs' flour sack is 800 lira. Four dogs eat it morning and evening. These subsidies have still not been paid. We have now used up zero.”