Contest for health: Dawn at the abattoir
By Nchendzengang Tatah
“Aseeeh”, she called to caution the butchers not to mishandle the lifeless cow heads before examination. Three out of every ten people have suffered from illnesses, which sometimes result in death, for consuming infected meat and other contaminated food, states a World Health Organization (WHO) 2011 report. The time reads 6:30 am and it’s now an hour since the knives began scraping at the Buea Town Slaughter House, South West.
A herd is seen approaching the slaughter, then one is pulled out by its tied leg. As the rest is led back to a stable nearby, the butchers, who are men only, begin a fight with the herbivore. Some cows, as though they smelled the itching knives and bloody floor, resist the pull. But eventually it ended up at the feet of the Muslim whose job is solely to make the animal lifeless by separating its head from the rest of the body.
The bigger, the more challenging. Those nearby are cautioned as the cow steps. The animal is feared to cause harm with its head or horns if played with. Alas! A stream of blood flows down into the built gutter. The abattoir is simply a wide cemented floor. One part is roofed and the other is not. Movements are done on the same surface inside the blood. First with the limbs, the lifeless cow is then skinned on the floor and the rest of it is chopped into parts.
There exist very few modern slaughterhouses in Cameroon. The towns of Yaounde, Douala and Ngaoundere boast of one each. Making the greater number of abattoirs to be traditional. Findings of a 2017 research by Afnabi and others, showed significant contamination of carcasses in traditional slaughterhouses.
The veterinary staff are afterwards invited to conduct the necessary checks. Through knife marks on the beef, examination is done even by palpation. A cow lung is brought out by the vet staff. She explained that an infection had affected it and so it was going to be seized. The vet further hinted that the process of checking and seizing affected parts of the meat was rigorous and the butchers complied. She recalled an event where the whole leg was cut away and buried while assuring that the rest of the meat is healthy.
Not too long, another offal is found infected. The liver this time, with physical spots, it also has moving organisms. It is a loss for the owner, but saves the community from disease, we are told. Burial of these infected organs takes place after the day’s kill is over. The Zoonotic Behavioral Research Assessment reports that, about 18,318.05 kg of bovine meat were seized for tuberculosis, representing more than 40 million FCFA in 2019.
One in 10 people fall ill every year because of eating contaminated food which is not limited to infected meat, estimates the World Health Organization. The same study reveals that contaminated food causes 600 million food-borne diseases and 420,000 deaths annually. At least, 91 million cases of these illnesses and 137,000 deaths are in Africa.
As the day gets older, many more people stream into the premises. Either to join the work of killing and partitioning the cattle or come here to buy. The rule that the vet staff enforce is for those without aprons and boots to stay out of the slaughter. Buyers are reprimanded too for moving in. They come to the slaughterhouse hoping to have specific parts at affordable prices.
When the meat is approved and weighed on the roof hanging digital kilogram, it is then taken into waiting car boots and vans with unconfirmed hygienic conditions. An average of 20 cows are slain daily to provide for Buea-Town, Bokwoango, Clerks quarters, Great Soppo and its surroundings. Another slaughterhouse is lodged in the Muea court area for the areas below the town.
The vet personnel indicated that the process of examining is not only carried out at the abattoir but also in homes of those who kill cows for personal or group consumption. By the left of the structure which is wide and roofed is a water tank, used in keeping hygiene. They say cleaning the floor is done every day. The Buea Town slaughterhouse is managed by the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA) in partnership with the Buea Council.
The Food and Agriculture Organization recommends that operations at the abattoir should be avoided on the floor, tools like knives should be thoroughly washed, meat should only be washed with clean water, unnecessary cuts on the meat should be avoided and the workers should keep good personal hygiene in order to minimize contamination of carcasses.
