Low patronage of meat, livestock "Public advised to avoid consuming sick, dead animals"

The outbreak of anthrax, a disease that affects livestock, in the northern parts of the country appears to have tampered with meat consumption as Muslims prepare to mark the Eid-ul-Adha tomorrow.

Butchers and livestock traders in the Northern, North East, Eastern and Greater Accra regions say they are recording low patronage following the outbreak of the anthrax disease in the Upper East Region.

Although the “localised outbreak” has been largely contained by health professionals through restriction of livestock and vaccinations, many consumers said they were still skeptical about consuming meat.

Meat consumption is a cardinal part of the Eid-ul-Adha celebration.

At various meat sales points, popularly called chinchinga joints and livestock markets, patronage was remarkably low, with cattle, sheep, goats and meat almost without buyers.

Advice

With soaring prices consumers have been advised against consuming sick and dead livestock.

The West Mamprusi Municipal Veterinary Director, Dr Abaki Abdulai, who gave the advice, said the cause of death of the livestock was not known, it was a health risk to consume those livestock.

Rather,  incidents of dead livestock, irrespective of where it happens, should be reported to the veterinary for examination.

Low patronage

From Tamale Fugu Mohammed reports that butchers and traders in parts of the Northern and North East regions said the ban on transportation and trade in livestock in the Upper East Region  had slowed down their businesses as most of them bought from farmers and retailers in that region.

A livestock dealer, Mohammed Hudu, told the Daily Graphic that “all my cattle and rams are locked up in the Upper East Region where my farm is located.

I had orders for the Eid-ul-Adha, but I could not deliver them because of the ban.”

He said due to the outbreak of the disease, prices of livestock had also increased astronomically, a situation which had also scared some consumers from buying.

A butcher, Salifu Rahaman, lamented the low patronage of the meat for the past weeks, saying “business is very bad.

Before the outbreak of the disease, I used to kill a cow and sell everything within two days, but these days, even a week I am unable to finish selling the meat”.

He appealed to authorities to speed up the vaccination exercise to contain the disease in order for business to bounce back. 

From Koforidua, Haruna Yussif Wunpini reports that the Koforidua Magazine, the main livestock market in the area, patronage of livestock and meat products were slow, with some residents expressing fears over the outbreak of the anthrax disease.

The place looked deserted with virtually no buyers although there were sheep, goats and cattle for sale.

Alhaji Iddrisu Abdul Rahman, a dealer in both cattle and ruminants, attributed the low patronage to the outbreak of the anthrax disease.

Price hikes

Alhaji Rahman said prices of livestock had increased by more than 40 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Nonetheless, he said some Muslims were prepared to buy the livestock for the Islamic festival.

He said prices of a bull ranged from GH¢7,000 to GH¢8,000 and GH¢15,000 depending on their sizes, while sheep cost between GH¢2,500, to GH¢3,500, with the mostly preferred white bigger ram selling at GH¢5,000.

Short supply

Another dealer, Tajudeen Sulemana, said although sheep, goats, rams and cattle were in short supply because of the anthrax, a number of Muslims had lamented the high cost and the economic difficulties that had eroded their purchasing power.

He said although he had been selling cattle for many years ahead of the Eid, he was making far less sales this year.

Budget doubled

Mohammed Awal, a resident of Koforidua Zango, said his budget for a ram had doubled this year as compared to previous years.

Hajia Habiba Mohammed, a resident of Asokore Zango in the New Juaben North Municipality in the Eastern Region, said although the prices of sacrificial animals were high, she would manage to get a ram for the celebration.

Some livestock sellers in Accra, especially cow and ram dealers, have expressed concern over low patronage of animals as Muslims prepare to celebrate this year’s Eid-ul-Adha, report by Mary Anane-Amponsah and Yaa Kuffour Senyah.

At some animal and meat sales outlets, including the James Town Slaughter Slab and Avenor Abattoir, although there were a lot of goats, sheep and cattle available for sale, very there was little trading activity as sellers sat idle, with a few buyers spotted bargaining for livestock.

A number of the animals had also been slaughtered and were being prepared to be sold to meat sellers.

High CFA Rate

One of the leaders at the James Town Slaughter Slab, Issah Tahiru, attributed the low patronage to the high cost of the animals due to the high exchange rate of the CFA although he acknowledged the recent outbreak of anthrax as a contributory factor.

He said the price of a cow ranged between GH¢13,000 and GH¢15,000 depending on the size or weight; a ram ranged between GH¢4,000 to GH¢5,000, and goat from GH¢1,000 to GH¢3,000.

As to whether people were not buying the animals because they were afraid of the anthrax disease, Tahiru said the sellers at the James Town Abattoir made sure their animals were examined before being slaughtered or sold alive.

“I don’t believe that is the issue because we have not recorded any of such disease here, but we make sure that animals that were sick were not slaughtered as we take them to the veterinary officers for examination,” he added.

A buyer at the Avenor Abattoir, Sulley Amadu, said he could only settle for a small ram due to the price although it could not be enough for the family.

He said he was not aware of a localised outbreak of the anthrax disease.

Anthrax effect

A veterinary officer, Abdul Gafaru, at the Jamestown Slaughter Slab said the disease had affected the market a bit due to the ban, stating that he used to examine about 70 to 80 animals on a daily basis but for the past one month, he had been examining about 40 to 50.

He indicated that for animals that were slaughtered within the James Town Abattoir, they made sure they were examined.

Mr Gafaru called on the district assemblies, security services among other stakeholders to put in stringent measures to ensure that laws on the movement of animals and their slaughtering were adhered to.

He additionally cautioned the public to be mindful of the meat they consumed by actively checking for permits or stamps at various shops and slaughter houses where they purchased meat.