Abattoirs (Slaughter houses) in Nigeria

The United States (US) Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention describes a food-borne disease as when two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink. In the US, the CDC investigates potential or identified sources of foodborne outbreak, most prominently those caused by bacteria such as Salmonella. Major sources of foodborne include beef, chicken, dairy products and others. Most countries have US CDC equivalent agencies or ministries that monitor hygiene, environmental and nutrition standards of poultry farms, ranches, and abattoir (slaughter houses). However, many countries in the developing world either do not have a national meat law or they have one that is not enforced.

A 2008 study conducted in Oyo, Nigeria (Nigerian Veterinary Journal, Vol. 29(2) 2008:43-47) revealed various zoonotic diseases and extreme unsanitary conditions inside abattoirs, and alerted the high possibility of the spread of such diseases and other communicable diseases including tuberculosis from infected animals to humans and between humans. A similar study conducted by Fearon et al conducted in Ghana. which focused on Abattoirs operations, waste generation and management quotes: "Handling and transporting carcasses to the various points of sale is generally done under unhygienic conditions, exposing the meat to all sorts of contaminants. With only one old wretched meat van serving the abattoir, majority of butchers (93%) resort to the use of other deficient means including bicycles and taxis (booth) to transport meat to the market, posing a serious threat to the health of consumers. Another study conducted in Nigeria (Nwanta et al. /Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences (2008). 7(2): 61-67.) identified similar problems in the area of abattoirs operations and waste management.

On December 18, 2015, DailyPost Nigeria reported that the Registrar, Veterinary Council of Nigeria, Dr Marcus Avong, stated that there were only three standard abattoirs in the country. This Newspaper report indicated that that Dr. Avong told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the facilities were located in Lagos, Borno and Nasarawa states. According to the DailyPost Nigeria report Dr. Avong also stated that the number of standard abattoirs was inadequate when compared with the country’s population and what obtains in other countries. Dr. Avong went on to state that in most abattoirs in the country, inspection of animals by veterinarians to ascertain their level of consumption safety was rarely done, and this he attributed to lack of standards or regulations for abattoir operations in the country.

In the same report, DailyPost Nigeria quoted Dr. Avong who said, ”The abattoir workers usually lack necessary tools and equipment to work with, resulting in infections. ”Today, the unhygienic condition of abattoirs and slaughter houses poses serious danger to public health: There are no facilities for waste management and water supply for proper washing of meat.”Transportation of meat from abattoirs in passenger vehicles or motorcycles is a common practice in most towns and cities, and this exposes meat to disease vectors such as flies and dust,” Avong said.

DailyPost Nigeria also stated that Dr. Avong said that even if healthy animals were taken to such abattoirs for slaughter, the meat might end up contaminated during processing. Dr. Avong stated that it was the council’s responsibility to enforce standards in abattoir operations in the country, and there was inadequate legal backing to carry out the assignment. He revealed that there is no national meat law governing the activities of abattoir operators in the country except for states like Lagos, Anambra and Ogun. Furthermore, Dr. Avong was said to have stated that, ”The problem again is having laws in place to govern abattoirs and slaughter houses. We do not have a national meat law. ”I’m aware that in some years past, efforts were made by the Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to enact a national meat law but the law did not see the light of the day. ”I’m also aware that even for the states that have the law, implementation is a challenge.”

In the DailyPost Nigeria report, it was stated that Dr. Avong said that the national meat law issue came up at an interactive session hosted by the House of Representatives Committee on Agricultural Production and Services on Wednesday. He said that members of the committee had seen the need for the law and expressed their readiness to prioritize any bill initiated by the council in that regard. The Report quoted Dr. Avong, ”To this end, we are in the process of dusting up that same bill from the Ministry of Agriculture that was thrown out by the National Assembly. ”We will review the document, fine tune it and then resubmit to the committee for easy passage this time around. ”The Veterinary Council of Nigeria is also in the process of amending the Veterinary Surgeon Act to strengthen the process of accreditation or certification of abattoirs.”

Based on this DailyPost Nigeria, Dr. Avong appealed to on governments at all levels in the country to set up standard abattoirs across the country to minimize the dangers posed by quacks to public health. He said that provision of standard abattoirs across the country or the enabling environment for investments in the sector was a dividend of democracy which the government was bound to deliver to Nigerians.

Below are photos (2016) from an abattoir in Nigeria that validates the worsening state of such places from where meat is sold to the general public. After viewing these pictures, you may want to rethink purchasing meat from a typical Nigerian market. Clearly, Nigerian abattoirs are breading grounds for diseases and the meats prepared for sale there are unhygienic for human consumption.

If you are appalled by the photos below, do something about it. Perhaps, you can start by pressuring your House of Representatives to review and pass a national meat law governing the activities of abattoir operators.

Photo credit: Oge Egbeta at SitiTalkBlog

Photo credit: Oge Egbeta at SitiTalkBlog

Photo credit: Oge Egbeta at SitiTalkBlog