Slaughter Conditions and Slaughtering of Pregnant Cows in Southeast Nigeria: Implications to Meat Quality, Food Safety and Security

Abstract

The increase in the slaughter of pregnant cows (SPCs) for meat (except as may be approved by veterinarians on health grounds to salvage the animal) is unethical. SPCs for meat is also counterproductive, detrimental to food security, and may enhance zoonotic disease transmission. In this context, therefore, this current study examined slaughter conditions and the slaughtering of pregnant cows, and the implications for meat quality, food safety, and food security in Southeast Nigeria. The direct observational method was employed to examine the slaughterhouse activities, from when the cattle arrived at the lairage to the post-slaughter stage. A pre-tested and validated closed-ended-questionnaire was used to elicit information on causes of the SPCs and the method of disposal of eviscerated foetuses. Pregnancy status of cows slaughtered was determined by palpation followed by visual examination of the eviscerated and longitudinal incised uteri. The study lasted for six months during which 851 cows out of 1931 slaughtered cattle were surveyed. Assessment/decision-making protocol of slaughterhouse conditions, welfare conditions of slaughter-cattle, reasons for sale or slaughter of pregnant cows, distribution of pregnant cows slaughtered, method of disposal of eviscerated foetuses, and estimated economic losses of SPCs were delineated. Of the 851 cows examined, 17.4% (148/851) were pregnant while 43.2% (64/148) of the total foetuses recovered were in their third trimester. Major reasons adduced for SPCs by proportion of involved respondents were: ignorance of the animals’ pregnancy status (69.7%, 83/119), high demand for beef (61.3%, 73/119), preference for large-sized cattle (47.9%, 57/119), economic hardship (52.1%, 62/119) and diseases conditions (42.9%. 51/119). The conduct of SPCs for meat would not be profitable. This is because within six months, an estimated loss of about 44,000 kg of beef, equivalent to ₦ 70.1 million or $186,400 would be associated with SPCs and the consequential foetal wastages. If losses were to be replicated nationwide across slaughterhouses, 4.3 tons of beef estimated at ₦ 8.6 billion or $23 million would be wasted. Improving slaughter conditions and the welfare of slaughter-cattle in Nigerian slaughterhouses through advocacy, training of slaughterhouse workers, and strict implementation of laws promoting humane slaughter practices is imperative. Preventing SPCs for meat and inhumane slaughter practices at the slaughterhouse would enhance the welfare needs of slaughter cattle, grow the national herd size, and improve meat safety as well as food security.

Slaughter of pregnant Tanzania shorthorn Zebu cattle at Morogoro abattoir: Prevalence, fetal wastage, and placentome morphology

“…Other factors contributing to the slaughter of pregnant cows that lead to fetal wastage include the need for money by farmers to meet household requirements, shortage of animal feed during the prolonged drought, less knowledge to some farmers on the importance of pregnancy diagnosis, scarcity of livestock extension services, and lack of execution of regulation against the slaughter of pregnant animals (Nonga 2015). Although the slaughter of pregnant animals is contrary to the Tanzania Animal disease Act of 2003, which prohibits slaughtering pregnant animals except for emergencies to relieve animal suffering, indiscriminate sales and ultimate slaughter of pregnant cows could be a result of culling unwanted, old or injured animals from the herds (Njoga et al 2021). However, if animals for sale are professionally examined for pregnancy before they are taken to the livestock market (according to Tanzania Animal Diseases Act 2003) and future re-examined at the slaughterhouse during the ante-mortem inspection, the losses associated with the slaughter of pregnant animals would have significantly minimized.…”

Indiscriminate slaughter of pregnant goats for meat in Enugu, Nigeria: Causes, prevalence, implications and ways-out

“…The causes of the unthriftiness in goat production may be multifactorial, but the slaughter of pregnant goats (SPGs) for meat is undoubtedly one of the major causes. Rampant SPGs threatens food (meat) security and connotes animal cruelty [ 1 , 10 ]. Enormous economic, foetal and livestock-resources wastages inherent in the slaughter of pregnant female animals (SPFAs) for meat [ 1 ], make SPGs counterproductive in many ways.…”

Validated LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous analysis of veterinary drugs in cultured meat media

“…However, the meat industry suffers from a number of issues, including those related to sustainability, food safety/security, and the ethical treatment of animals (Bryant 2020). Moreover, meat products derived from animals that have been slaughtered unethically could negatively affect both human and public health (Njoga et al 2021).…”