Anambra Assembly Bans Sale Of Bad Meat

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Anambra State House of Assembly has passed a resolution condemning dealing in diseased meat in abattoirs, just as it urged the state government to rehabilitate the abattoirs in the state. Coming on the heels of reports of the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in the country, the lawmakers urged the state government to maintain public health through its Ministries of Environment, Works, Agriculture and Health, by encouraging international best practices.

The resolution emanated from a motion by the member representing Oyi Constituency, Vivian Okadigbo, and seconded by the member representing Anambra East Constituency, Obinna Emenaka, with eight other co-sponsors.

Moving the motion, Okadigbo noted that the various abattoirs in the state lacked essential facilities such as veterinary clinic, waiting pens, quarantine block, slaughter slabs, borehole, coldroom, parking lot and other facilities needed in a standard abattoir.

The unhealthy state of the abattoirs, she emphasised, posed serious danger to the health of residents as well as visitors to the state and discouraged investors within the agricultural sector.

Noting that the paramount goal of every good government was to secure the lives and property of its citizens as well as work towards improving the economy of the state, Okadigbo said the intendment of the motion was to cure the unhealthy practice of dealing in diseased or contaminated meat in Anambra.

Using the abattoir in her constituency situated at Umunya in Oyi local government as a case study, the lawmaker said, “A trip to the aforementioned abattoir and other abattoirs within the state will expose the ills set to be cured by the motion. Unfortunately, the said abattoir is situate along the Onitsha/Enugu Expressway, a notorious road used by many residents in the state as well as visitors who traverse the state and other states in the South-East and South-South.“Sincerely speaking the butchers who slaughter these animals have no iota of regard to public health, most times they kill these animals on the bare ground even when they kill on the slaughter slabs, the latter is not properly disinfected. We live in a world where a lot of diseases are occasioned by the consumption of diseased or contaminated meat. These animals are not properly certified by qualified veterinary doctors before they are slaughtered for human consumption.”

She further said having employed Veterinary Doctors of Grade Level 12 in the last state recruitment exercise, the doctors should be deployed to various abattoirs to work, insisting that time has come for the state to take proactive measure to address the sorry state of abattoirs in the state to forestall the outbreak of a novel disease.

The motion got an overwhelming appreciation and support as all the lawmakers who spoke after her commended the motion and emphasized its importance to the state and the well being of the people.

It was unanimously passed as a resolution urging the state government to act urgently and appropriately with the Deputy Speaker who presided over the sitting of the day called for support or otherwise and there was no dissenting voice.

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