The Lagos State Government has said it will embark on the removal of illegal slaughter slabs, as well as the monitoring of all veterinary premises across the state from 1st September 2020. This is to improve the sanitisation and reform of the red meat value chain.
The State Acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, said this over the weekend during the re-inauguration of the Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance (MEC) Team of the Ministry. She noted that the exercise would also involve the monitoring of meat transportation and enforce stray animal control.
Olusanya added that the removal is necessary, especially as the State remains particular about producing wholesome and healthy meat for its residents while simultaneously ensuring that the streets are free of stray animals.
She recalled that even though the removal of illegal slaughterhouses had been an on-going exercise for the past three years, there is a need to strictly enforce meat transportation using only the designated vehicles as well as stray animals control, which had lately become more rampant, cannot be overemphasised.
The Acting Commissioner said the monitoring will be done state wide in conjunction with Lagos State Private Veterinary Premises Registration Authority in effecting zero-tolerance for illegal slaughter slabs and ensuring proper regulation of veterinary activities
She also pointed out that the menace of stray animals on major roads and streets were also on the high, adding that such animals destroy various ornamental plants, shrubs and trees of aesthetic value within the metropolis, thereby increasing the risk of accidents and environmental degradation as well as the prevalence of the outbreak of zoonotic diseases that pose major threats to human health.
Olusanya disclosed that all stakeholders including members of the Lagos State Butchers Association, Abattoir Concessionaire Forum, Lagos State Sheep and Goat Association, Lagos State Ram and Goat Sellers Association, Eko Refrigerated Meat Van, Eko Live Animal Transport and the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association among others had been well informed and carried along to allow for the smooth operation of the MEC unit.
The Chairman of the State Butchers Association, Mr. Bamidele Kazeem, pledged the association’s full support for the state government’s latest initiative to sanitise the red meat value chain.
Bamidele assured that registered abattoirs and meat markets were already in compliance with all the laws of the state government concerning the reform of the red meat value chain. He maintained that there is no fear on their part of being affected by the activities of the Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance Team.
The Secretary of the state Abattoir Concessionaires Forum, Mr. Hamzat Kareem, also noted that the re-inauguration of the Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance Team would curb the menace of illegal abattoirs as they pose a huge threat to legal abattoir operations.
