Abattoirs silently ravaging Nigerians, animal experts warn
•Create diseases, tumor, cancer, high BP, stroke
By Gabriel Ewepu
Meat has its primary source from livestock including cows, goats, sheep, poultry products, and among others. This important source of protein is now a dangerous means of deadly parasites causing terminal diseases which are contracted from animals slaughtered at the abattoirs by butchers and sold to Nigerians.
According to a report, titled ‘Public Health Perspective of Public Abattoirs in Nigeria, Challenges and Solutions’, abattoirs in Nigeria are major sources of pathogens and multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria.
Speaking with Vanguard Agrobiz, the past President, Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, NVMA, Dr. Gani Enahoro, expressed deep worries over the risks associated with meat services at the nation’s abattoirs.
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, estimates that Nigeria holds 54.81 million cattle, 64.93 million sheep and 138.95 million goats, 16 million pigs and 683.68 million poultry birds.
Enahoro said these figures are huge and reflect enormous economic potential, with a corresponding huge public health responsibility.
He stated: “Unknown to many, a lot of people die from food poisoning traceable to meat sources, or in some cases had contracted viral or bacterial diseases through wrong processing of meat and its byproducts.
This is not an exaggeration. It is a national emergency hiding in plain sight.”
He also disclosed that “butchers often gang up and resist veterinary directives, relying instead on dangerous traditional practices.
“The result, is that Nigerians across the board unknowingly consume meat contaminated with tuberculosis, brucellosis, salmonella, E. coli, parasites, and dangerous chemical residues. These illnesses may not always kill instantly, but they weaken the body, damage organs, and shorten lifespan.”
“Countries that maintain strict food safety standards will not import meat from nations with poor slaughterhouse practices’’.
Making recommendations Enahoro stated: “Nigeria must adopt a multi-level implementation strategy. This should include a revision of the legal framework, such that local governments cannot continue to bear sole responsibility for abattoirs. The states and the federal government must play stronger regulatory and supervisory roles.
“Veterinarians must lead slaughterhouse operations, in order to professionalize abattoir management, while butchers should be trained and certified, not just in trade unionism. They should have basic knowledge of public health, biosecurity and biosafety measures.
“The conditions of concessioning abattoirs to contractors should prioritize safety, over and above revenue generation. Nigeria needs several hygienic slaughterhouses, with modern infrastructure, running water, waste treatment systems, cold chain facilities and disease surveillance units’’.
A Professor of Environmental Parasitology and Nematology, Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof. Sidney Obidimma Nzeako, said the issues relating to proper hygiene at abattoirs deserve serious attention, because they have direct impact on the health of Nigerians who eat animals from these slaughter houses scattered
across the country.
Nzeako also said abattoirs in Nigeria are not regulated and made to adhere to global best practices as seen in other climes.“90% of animals that are killed, both cows, pigs, and others, are infected because once you have a relationship with the environment that is unsanitary, they get infected.
The only ones you cannot say they are not infected are the ones that are under managed and controlled environment, which is more up to 10% of the animal husbandry business in Nigeria. Free range is dangerous’’.
In his recommendations to the current danger from abattoirs, he said there is the need for regulatory agency to be stationed in every abattoir; every cow or any animal that is killed must go through proper veterinary examination before it is certified feed for public consumption; a particular time animals are slaughtered after certification by veterinary doctors; and ranching and controlled animal husbandry’’.
Meanwhile, in his reaction, the Former Registrar, Nigerian Institute of Animal Science, Prof Eustace Iyayi, highlighted the deplorable state of abattoirs in Nigeria begging for holistic overhaul to safeguard Nigerians’ health and a whole a lot of businesses.
According to Prof Iyayi, ‘‘today at abattoirs, diseased animals enter the slaughter chain; Inadequate ante-mortem inspection; Weak post-mortem inspection; Poor separation of clean and dry areas; Contaminated water; Poor waste ma age management; Unsafe carcass transportation; Lack of PPE and occupational health protection; and informal slaughtering. All these are the key sources of contracting deadly diseases from the abattoirs.”
The post Abattoirs silently ravaging Nigerians, animal experts warn appeared first on Vanguard News.