Butchers bemoan deplorable condition of Taraba abattoir

A visit to the abattoir which is situated at Sabon-Gari area of Jalingo and built over 20 years ago indicates that the environment is unhygienic and oozing out an offensive odor.An official of the Butchers’ Association in Jalingo abattoir, Mohammed Bello Danbau, lamented that butchers have been going through a lot of hardship over the […]

A visit to the abattoir which is situated at Sabon-Gari area of Jalingo and built over 20 years ago indicates that the environment is unhygienic and oozing out an offensive odor.
An official of the Butchers’ Association in Jalingo abattoir, Mohammed Bello Danbau, lamented that butchers have been going through a lot of hardship over the years due to inadequate facilities at the abattoir in addition to the poor hygienic condition.
He said the abattoir has only one slaughter slab serving over 100 butchers who throng the place on daily basis to slaughter over 150 assorted animals including cows, goats and sheep.
According to him, government has never carried out any renovation work on the abattoir since it was built, adding that part of the roofs covering the slaughter slab has been blown off by wind while some parts of the wall of the structure is in a decaying state.
The abattoir also lacks adequate water as butchers depend on well water which usually dries up during the dry season, forcing them to seek services of water tankers and water vendors to meet their needs.
He decried the poor sanitary condition of the abattoir, saying there are no sanitary officials deployed by the government to ensure hygiene.
“We just have to manage the smell oozing from the environment since we have no option. Even members of the public who live around here do come to complain to us sometimes. We want the government to assist in improving the condition of the abattoir,” he said.
According to him, the surrounding of the abattoir has overgrown with weeds and shrubs, saying that there is no assistance from the government in clearing the environment or fumigating the place.
Of equal concern to the butchers is the lack of toilet facilities at the abattoir, a situation that compels them to go to nearby bushes to defaccate which they observed is not healthy for their business.
Other challenges facing the abattoir include lack of cold room for meat storage, van for dispatching meat and office accommodation for union officials.
Meanwhile, butchers have expressed worry over the abandonment of construction work at the Ultra Modern Abattoir by the state government at Wuro Sembe area of Jalingo, the state capital.
The project which was said to have been awarded to Facceso Nigeria Limited at the cost of N200 million, has now been abandoned.
Our correspondent who visited the site observed that the project which has reached its roofing stage has been abandoned by the contractor for over 6 months now.
The butchers have therefore appealed to the state ministry of agriculture saddled with responsibility of supervising the project to call the contractor back to site and ensure early completion of the project.
When contacted, Taraba State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Isah Musa, told our correspondent that efforts were being made to put the abattoir in order for the benefit of the people of the state.