Health experts have called for improved sanitary condition of abattoirs across the 18 Local Government Areas of Edo State to prevent spread of preventable diseases among residents.
The experts in separate interviews with The Tide’s source in Benin on Monday, said there was urgent need for government to empower health personnel with requisite tools to enable them effectively function and ensure that consumers were served healthy meats from the abattoirs.
Prof. Myke Omoigberale, Chairman, Nigeria Environmental Society, Edo chapter, told the source that there was need for sanitary inspectors and vetirinary doctors to be empowered and motivated to effectively discharge their primary duties of monitoring the abattoirs.
Omoigberale, a Professor of animal and environmental science, lamented that those saddled with the responsibility of monitoring the abattoirs were no longer doing the job because of lack of motivation.
“When it comes to the issue of abattoirs in Edo , I think that there is much the government can do to maintain them by putting control mechanism in place to regulate their activities.
“If you ever go to a typical abattoir in Edo, you will not want to eat meat again.
“Incidentally, I and one of my post graduate students just finished a research on the impact of abattoirs’ waste on fishes in Ikpoba river.
“And the result we got was not very encouraging; the waste from abattoirs are very toxic.
“We discovered that the untreated waste they wash into the river has negative impact on aquatic lives”, he said.
According to him, in developed countries, If you go to the abattoirs, you won’t even perceive any odour of meat being slaughtered.
“But in Nigeria, it is the opposite because we do not put hygiene first, you will marvel at the condition under which these animals are slaughtered.
“Most times they slaughter the animals on bare ground; step on them, carry the meat on their head, carry them on motorcycles, exposing the meat to different elements and diseases.
“Our abattoirs are time bombs waiting to happen in terms of diseases as a result of poor maintenance and poor handling of meat”, he said.
Omoigberale, however, stressed the need for animals to be thoroughly examined by vetirinary doctors to be sure that they were healthy for consumption to avoid transmission of diseases to human beings.
He called on government to set up monitoring teams whose members would monitor activities of these slaughter houses to ensure that the animals were healthy and slaughtered in very hygienic environment.
According to him, we all know the standard required for something that you will put in your mouth. You will agree with me that what is currently obtainable in our abattoirs does not meet the standard required standard.
Corroborating Omoigberale ‘s view, Dr Thomas Haruna, Director of vetirinary services, Edo State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, disclosed that Edo had more than 70 abattoirs owned by various local government areas and private individuals.
Haruna, however, noted that only a few out of that number were not functioning.
According to him, the major ones within the Benin metropolis.which were mostly privately owned, are functioning with government regulating their activities.
He said government had recently stepped up efforts in the control and supervision of these abattoirs.
Haruna noted that before animals were slaughtered, the vetirinary doctors carried out anti-mortem and postmortem inspections on the animals to be sure that they were fit for consumption.
“We have had cases where a full cow was condemned because we declared it not fit for consumption. So we carry out meat inspection before and after slaughtering.
“Infact, we currently have about four cases in court. These four people are being prosecuted for bringing donkey meat not approved into Edo from other states.
“We have also in the past, secured one conviction of someone who was also caught selling donkey meat in the state. Donkey meat is not approved for sale in Edo”, he said.
According to Haruna, relevant health departments have in recent times, taken the issue of abattoirs seriously.
“It has become one health programme where we ensure that the vetirinary doctors do the inspection of the animals before and after slaughtering and representative of the ministry of environment, ensures that the waste are properly disposed off.