Residents, experts raise alarm over unhygienic state of abattoirs in FCT

The unhygienic state of abattoirs across the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is dangerous and requires urgent government intervention, experts and residents have warned. Our correspondent reports that despite the public outcries, the butchers operating in most of the abattoirs continue to roast the animals with tyres. Our reporter, who visited […]

The unhygienic state of abattoirs across the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is dangerous and requires urgent government intervention, experts and residents have warned.

Our correspondent reports that despite the public outcries, the butchers operating in most of the abattoirs continue to roast the animals with tyres.

Our reporter, who visited Abaji abattoir located behind the main market along the Toto Road, observed that necessary hygiene was not being adhered to by the butchers, who were seen slaughtering cows on the dirty floor inside the abattoir.

Though the abattoir building appeared to have been renovated recently, maintaining the best standard by the operators has been the issue.

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Our reporter observed as the butchers were seen walking on the floor filled with the blood of the slaughtered animals while some stepped on the meat.

A butcher, Mubarak Aliyu, who spoke to our reporter, said the abattoir underwent renovation some years ago by the Agric secretariat of the FCT Administration but said environmental officials only come once in a while, especially during the Abaji market days for inspection.

He said the responsibility of regulating and maintaining slaughter houses fall within the area councils in the FCT, while the department of veterinary services of the FCTA is responsible for ensuring that all meats intended for human consumption are in good condition through the veterinarians that are supposed to be in each of the slaughter slabs.

 

The chiefs of butchers (Sarkin Pawa) in the area council, Alhaji Bashir Musa, said even though there were challenges that require attention of the government, he had been making sure that his members adhere strictly to the best practices.

He said the roofs of the abattoir had been leaking for sometime without necessary attention.

“Before now, our major challenge at the abattoir was lack of water but the council chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Abdullahi, has provided a generator, which we are now using to pump water to wash the animals,” he said.

The leader of the butcher said he had complained to the mandate secretary for FCT Agric secretariat on the leaking of the abattoir’s roof, which he promised to fix but nothing has been heard from the administration since then.

Our reporter, who was at the Kwali abattoir, observed as the butchers were busy slaughtering the cows on the bare floor while some were seen roasting goats with tyres.

The butchers were also stepping on the meat while struggling to chase away dogs which were in search of bones from the unfenced abattoir.

Some of the butchers, after cutting the meat into pieces, engaged the services of wheel barrow pushers to convey the meat to the market, which is about a kilometer from the abattoir.

Our reporter was told that neither veterinary doctors nor environmental officials visit the abattoir for inspection.

Residents of the area said stench of odor from the abattoir was posing a serious hazard to their environment.

Mr Gabriel Jacob, who resides near the abattoir, said the stench from the abattoir forces them to remain indoors even when there is heat.

He said most of the residents often close their windows whenever it rains as a result of the stench emanating from the abattoir.

He blamed the environmental officials for not monitoring activities of the butchers in the area.

He said, ‘’Even when there is heat, I can’t relax outside as I have to remain indoors and I can’t open my windows because of the odour from the abattoir, especially when there is rain.”

He said the butchers usually wash animals’ intestines, offload the waste in the open, adding that he had complained to the officials of the environmental department of the council without response.

Our reporter also visited Gwagwalada abattoir, located some distance from the Aguma’s palace.

The abattoir is an eyesore as the building itself is in a state of dilapidation.

The butchers were seen slaughtering animals in the open.

Some butchers were seen roasting cows’ heads, legs and tails as well as goats with tyres under the sun.

Inside the abattoir was a gory mixture of blood, excreta and other waste from the slaughtered animals.

Some residents, who spoke with our reporter, complained about the manner by which animal wastes, especially the excreta, are being disposed by the butchers.

Also, Kuje abattoir, located at Unguwar Shadadi, is an eyesore as butchers were seen stepping on the animals they were butchering.

 

It is dangerous to use tyres to roast animals -expert

Abuja Metro observed that at all the abattoir visited, the butchers mostly used scrap tyres to roast animals, especially cows’ heads, legs, tails, goat and ram.

Behind the slaughter houses lies this an area where goats and the hairy parts of slaughtered animals are washed with dirty water.

The pool- like area where the singed goats or hides are washed contains dirty water filled with residues from the bowels of the animals.

A radiation and clinical oncologist at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, Dr Ahmadu Tessy, who spoke via telephone with our reporter, said singeing animals meant for consumption with scrap tyres is harmful to both humans and the environment.

He said such material contains toxic material capable of causing serious health and environmental troubles.

According to him, tyres contain toxic and heavy metal residues like carbon, zinc, and Sulphur, which, he said, were higher than permissible limits for humans and when the residues are released from burning them, they cause contamination.

“When animals are roasted with burning tyres, there is a risk of deposition of these heavy metals in the hides of these animals, which affects the quality of the meat itself and also bio- accumulate, leading to different effects on various organs of the final consumer,” he said.

According to him, the smoke from the burning tyres released into the environment also contains volatile carbon.

“And when such is released into the air, it reduces air quality while some find their way into the soil and drinking water,” Dr Tessy warned.

He warned that arsenic plays a role in the development of lung, such as bladder, skin, colon, gastric, kidney and nasopharyngeal cancer.

 

FCTA confirms situations in abattoirs

The Director, Department of Veterinary Services of the FCT Administration, Dr Ademoh Idris, said the department was aware of the general challenges facing some abattoirs across the FCT councils.

He attributed it to the aged-long neglect and failure to upgrade and standardise the operations.

He said though some of the abattoirs underwent renovation some years ago, there was still a move to upgrade the facilities and unhygienic practices in all the abattoirs in the nation’s capital.