Despite health risk, butchers use tyres to roast meat in Abuja

Butchers at the Kubwa abattoir in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have reverted to traditional meat-processing methods, using condemned tyres to remove animal hair, while a modern roasting facility built for them has been converted into a sleeping area. This is despite the health risk associated with the consumption of meat […]

Butchers at the Kubwa abattoir in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have reverted to traditional meat-processing methods, using condemned tyres to remove animal hair, while a modern roasting facility built for them has been converted into a sleeping area.

This is despite the health risk associated with the consumption of meat roasted with used tyres.

Research revealed that tyres have 45.49, 40, 0.23 and 1.17% composition for carbon black, zinc oxide, wax and sulphur toxic materials which could pose health threats to human beings and the environment.

The Kubwa abattoir operates under the supervision of the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), which maintains a management office at the facility, staffed with veterinary doctors and revenue officials.

When our reporter visited the facility at the weekend, some of the butchers attributed their decision to abandon the modern roasting pit to the lack of key operational components since its installation shortly after the COVID-19 lockdown.

One of the butchers, Hassan Sulaiman, said the heating system in the facility has remained non-functional due to the absence of critical components.

According to him, gas cylinders promised by the authorities have not been provided, alongside the expected supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for a period to encourage usage of the facility.

The chairman of the butchers at the Kubwa abattoir, Abubakar Galadima, said the facility was initiated by a former director in the Agriculture Secretariat, who introduced several innovations across FCT abattoirs.

He explained that the development came after an upward review of charges paid by butchers per animal.

“But unfortunately, the director retired before the remaining components needed to operate the modern roasting pit were provided,” Galadima said.

He added that the required industrial gas cylinders are expensive and beyond the financial capacity of the butchers.

Sulaiman also raised concerns over the health implications of the current practice, noting that thick smoke from burning tyres poses serious risks.

“In the course of the job, we take certain drugs to minimise the hazards associated with inhaling the smoke. The heat from the fire is also affecting our health negatively,” he said.

Findings by Abuja Metro further revealed that despite generating daily revenue from slaughtered cattle, the abattoir’s main facility has not undergone renovation for over five years.

He lamented that this contrasts with previous years when the secretariat carried out annual renovations to maintain hygiene standards.

Meanwhile, one of the cleaners at the abattoir, Luka Danlami, said he works with two others to maintain sanitation at the facility, including ensuring the proper flow of liquid waste into nearby soak-away pits and evacuating animal dung from slaughtered cattle.

Efforts to get the response of the Director Information at the Agriculture Secretariat of the FCTA, Malam Zakari Aliyu, were not successful, as he neither responded to the call, nor text message, sent to his contact.