ABUJA – Butchers in the country have called for improved sanitary conditions in abattoirs to prevent outbreak of diseases.
The butchers made the call in a nationwide survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the state of the abattoirs across the country.
In Kaduna, the major abattoir at Tudun Wada, Kaduna South local government area of the state, which was constructed in 1960, lack necessary facilities to guarantee proper handling of raw meat and disposal of effluents.
A check by NAN reveals that the abattoir has no electricity in the past three years, its cold house is out of order, while its hanging line is also not functioning.
Alhaji Suleiman Sabo, Leader of the butchers at the abattoir, told NAN that stakeholders were putting lots of efforts to ensure cleanliness at the facility.
Sabo agreed that the current mode of transporting meat from the abattoir to selling points “is not good enough”, and pleaded with the government to provide vehicle for that purpose.
“This is one of the biggest abattoirs; we have our veterinary doctor assigned by the government to supervise the animal before slaughter.
“We don’t allow any unfit animal to be slaughtered here, we only allow healthy ones.
“The issue of security is a major challenge, that is why things are slow here, people hardly bring their animal to town, but thank God with the present situation, things are improving.”
He called on the State Government to provide access roads and rehabilitate some of the dilapidated structures to make the facility more functional.
“If government can assist in the development of this place it will serve as a great source of revenue and job creation for the state and the country at large.”
On his part, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed, the State Chairman, Butchers Association, urged the state government to upgrade all abattoirs to ensure safety of products.
According to him, the poor sanitary condition of some abattoirs is caused by inadequate water supply, absence of sanitary facilities and delay in evacuation of waste generated.
He advised the government to extend the “Keep Kaduna Clean” campaign to the abattoirs to prevent any outbreak of diseases.
The chairman also appealed to the state government to commence immediate evacuation of heaps of refuse dumps at various abattoirs across the state.
“If the refuse dumps are allowed it will block drainages, thereby affecting the free flow of water and wastes from the various spots around the abattoirs, especially as the raining season approaches.”
Mohammed specifically urged the government to provide water to the abattoirs to guarantee the safety of meat and other products in order to promote public health.
He said that water was not only essential for the cleanliness of products from the facilities but also for the continuous cleanliness of the slaughter houses.
The Manager of the abattoir, Mr Mohammed Hussaini, however, said that the management was doing its best to ensure that only clean and hygienic meat leave the abattoir for sale to the public.
He said that butchers and officials coming into the abattoir were encouraged to wear safety materials while the animals were inspected by veterinary officers before slaughter.
“The building for the cold house is intact but the facilities are not there, they have been stolen; any facility placed here by the government is usually stolen after a month or two.”
According to him, animals are supposed to be stationed at the abattoir 24 hours before slaughter to allow the officials enough time to inspect and certify them fit for human consumption.
But he said that because “the hanging facility is not working, we are now using the fence for inspecting the animals before slaughtering.
“The inspection is now done in the early hours of the morning, to observe the cattle being brought in for slaughter, and those ones that are not acceptable we call the attention of the Sarkin Pawa (head of the butchers) to get them removed.”
On the mode of transporting the meat, Hussaini said efforts were on to secure loan from banks to purchase tricycles for the evacuation of raw meat to selling points.
“I am not happy with the mode of transporting the meat, but this involve so many people, the government, the butchers and we are making plan to devise means of carrying the meat across, not by motorcycles as usually done.
“We intend to raise some money from banks to purchase Keke NAPEP (tricycles) so that it can conveniently carry the meat to markets.
“We are also making arrangement with transporters via their union to finalise the issue.
“We should not always wait for government to do everything for us; it is a business and should be handled as such.
“Government is only interested in it because people might have problem if they take unhygienic meat and other products from the abattoir.”
Responding to the development, the state Director for Environment, Mr Ahmed Salihu, said the management of the various abattoirs were responsible for the general cleanliness of the facilities.
“We only provide technical advice to whosoever own or establish abattoirs in the state,” he said.
He said the state environmental protection agency would only evacuate waste from the abattoirs that complied with standard operational guidelines.
From Katsina, the State Chairman, Butchers Association, Alhaji Attahu Halle, also urged government to provide water and employ cleaners to enhance sanitary condition of abattoirs.
According to him, most of the cleaners deployed to the abattoirs have retired and there is need for replacement.
Halle said the Katsina abattoir, for example, which had 10 cleaners before, now has “only one’’ as nine had retired.
“The work is becoming too much for one person; we had to render voluntary services to keep the environment clean.
“Abattoirs need more cleaners so as to keep the surrounding clean and avoid contamination of the meat.’’
The chairman also called on the government to provide them with potable water that would be used to process the meat.
Halle said that butchers now depended on water vendors to get water to process the beef and mutton.
He also solicited for vehicles to transport the processed meat to different markets in Katsina, as the butchers now use motorcycles.
He lamented that the state government only concentrated on collection of revenue from them without rendering services.
According to him, they pay N500 for each cow or camel slaughtered in the abattoirs, while N150 was paid for each goat/sheep slaughtered.
He explained that they slaughter about 10 cows, and 35 goats and sheep on daily basis in the Katsina modern abattoir.
Halle said that the butchers slaughter healthy animals because the veterinary personnel inspect the animals before being slaughtered.
He also urged the government to provide them with cold a room to preserve the processed meat.
The chairman appealed to the government to establish a livestock market for them near the abattoirs so as to avoid travelling long distances to purchase animals for slaughter.
A report from Edo said that the strike embarked upon by judiciary workers was responsible for non-enforcement of prosecution of illegal abattoir operators in the state.
An environmental officer in Edo, Mr Braimoh Abdulsalami, said this while fielding questions from NAN in Auchi.
Abdulsalami, the Head of Environmental Department, Etsako West Local Government Council, said this against the backdrop of poor sanitary condition of abattoirs in the area.
He said that the strike had affected the council activities in the prosecution of butchers operating illegal abattoirs and violation of law on the distribution of slaughtered animals.
“There are things that you cannot do alone, it requires the backing of the law, so that is why we are not able to prosecute them since the court is on strike.
“We have been arresting butchers and those operating illegal abattoirs, but you know that the court is on strike and there is no way we can prosecute them,’’ he said.
Abdulsalami said that the council had severally warned the butchers against operating unapproved abattoirs, saying there were lots of dangers in patronising illegal abattoirs.
Braimoh said that the council had enlightened butchers to convey their meat from the slaughter house to the market properly.
“We are holding meetings with the butchers to educate them on the laws that regulate activities in abattoirs and healthy ways of conveying meat to the markets.
“Take for instant where a meat seller will use bike to convey meat to the market. I have invited the chairman of the association severally on ways they can convey their meat.
“There is no transport means of conveying meat but it does not mean that a butcher should put meat on their bare hand on the bike to the market.
“We will call them for meeting to ensure that they conform with the law of appropriate in carrying meat to the market,’’ he said.
He advised residents to patronise only government approved abattoirs, ensure they safeguard their health and consume meat processed only in approved abattoirs.
“This government approved abattoirs are subjected to safety checks by health officials, to ensure that the meat is safe for consumption,” he said.
Similarly, butchers in Ikole Ekiti, Ekiti state of South West Nigeria, also decry the poor state of abattoirs in the area.
Butchers operating at Aponranyi abattoir in Ikole, have lamented over the poor state of the major abattoir in Ikole local government area and called for assistance from the council management.
The abattoir situated at the back of Total Filling station in the ancient town of
Ikole was in bad state when NAN correspondent visited the facility.
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The abattoir with tattered roof and at the verge of collapse housed not less than 25 male butchers including other workers.
The two concrete slabs in the abattoir are in deplorable condition while the abattoir’s surrounding is filled with animal waste.
The report added that the poor state of the abattoir clearly indicates the unhygienic environment under which the butchers carry out their daily activities.
The butchers, however, make use of boxes placed on motorcycle seats to transport meat to different locations unlike the old practice when meat was placed openly on Okada seats.
Confirming the deplorable condition of the structure, Mr Omoboyede Oloyede, the leader of butchers at the abattoir, said the structure was constructed in 2003 by the Ikole Local Government Council.
“We have made several appeals to the council management to come to our
aid in rehabilitating the abattoir but to no avail.
“They only come here to collect revenue on daily basis and we have decided not to pay revenue until our rehabilitation demand is met,’’ Oloyede said.
He said a veterinary doctor do visit the abattoir twice in a week to inspect and certify cows to be slaughtered, adding that sanitary officers from the council always come for inspection.
He disclosed that an average of two cows valued between N250,000 and N400,000 were slaughtered daily, saying economic hardship in the country was affecting their sales.
Speaking on the roles of sanitary heath officers to ensure compliance with sanitary regulation at the abattoir, Mr Tunde Famuyisan, Head, Environment Department in the council, said regular inspection and sensitisation were carried out.
“Our health educators visit the abattoir to sensitise on how to clean the slabs, their environment, before and after slaughtering, and best ways to transport meat through hygienic means.
“Sanitary inspection department in the council is making efforts to improve hygiene in all abattoirs and ensure that butchers comply with sanitary regulations,’’ Famuyisan explained. (NAN)
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