Bhojpur, Aug 18: The sheep farmers in Bhojpur district have been affected for lack of sufficient grazing land.
Many of the farmers have shared that their business was in crisis due to limited grazing land and the massive stray dogs there.
Farmer Govinda Khathet, 72, who is doing sheep farming for long, shared that their business has witnessed a serious threat from stray dogs and limited pastureland. He shared that almost 20 farmers quit sheep farming in the past two years.
“We have to pay to graze our sheep in community forests. Many of the farmers have switched to other professions from sheep farming, as we don’t have enough grazing areas. We have lost huge as the stray dogs kill our sheep,” Khathet shared his worries.
There are only 18 to 20 commercial sheep farmers from Bhojpur and Khotang districts in the Maiyung area.
The farmers have shared that sheep farming could remain nonexistent if there were no protections from the state’s side.
Seven community forests in the Maiyung area have charged each farmer from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 for providing the grazing land.
It is stated that the farmers should pay for the entire year even if the sheep graze there for three months too. “The rates vary in each community forest since they have their own set of rules,” farmers say.
Another farmer Sher Bahadur Kathet mentioned that stray dogs remain a serious threat to the farmers. He added that around 100 sheep were killed by stray dogs here in the last six months. “Local government should pay attention to the control of the stray dogs to promote sheep farming,” he added.
Sheep farming is a better livelihood option for some of the community members in the high hills of Bhojpur and Khotang, as they have benefited from the wool, ghee and other sheep products.
