The Cross River State Commissioner for Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Ntufam Emmanuel Anom, has promised to address growing concerns from stakeholders over the poor sanitary conditions of abattoirs in the state.
Anom, who gave the assurance while on a familiarisation tour of abattoirs in Calabar Municipality and Calabar South, said the present government is poised toward upgrading the environmental conditions of existing abattoirs to meet minimum acceptable standards.
Anom informed the cattle dealers of the plans by government to establish a central cattle market to enhance easy access to customers and veterinary staff.
Also Speaking, the Director of Veterinary services in the state, Dr Thomas Isek, who accompanied the Commissioner on the tour, decried the conditions of the abattoirs, noting that with the visit of the Commissioner, issues of concerns needing urgent attention would soon be tackled to guarantee the safety of consumers.
Dr Isek called for the building of a minimum of abattoir of globally acceptable standard in each senatorial district given cosmopolitan nature of growing urban areas across the state.
He commended health and veterinary staff attached to the Ministry for their meticulous efforts in ensuring that meat from these slaughter houses was safe for human consumption.