Lagos State Government has dismantled an illegal slaughter in the Oke Rube axis of Alimosho Local Government Area of the state.
The state Acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Messrs Abisola Olusanya, who led the operation on Thursday, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the team arrested 10 butchers and confiscated two live cows.
NAN reports that the Monitoring, Enforcement, and Compliance Team in the state Ministry of Agriculture, began the dismantling of the slaughter slabs on September 1.
The team was constituted to ensure the sanitisation of the red meat value chain.
Olusanya said that the exercise became imperative after repeated warnings to operators of illegal slaughter slabs over the menace caused by their activities.
She said that the confiscated meat had been donated to the Juvenile Remand Home at Oregun, Ikeja after due inspection by the veterinary team to ensure the health of the meat.
She said that the live cows would be kept at the Oko-Oba abattoir, Agege to be claimed by their owners within 48 hours or they would also be donated to charity.
Olusanya said that the arrested butchers would be prosecuted at the Lagos State taskforce mobile court.
“The dismantling of the abattoir is necessary because the state is concerned about the production of wholesome and healthy meat for the citizens as well as ensure that the streets are free of stray animals, which has lately become more rampant in the state.
“We will also strictly enforce meat transportation, using only the designated vehicles and stray animals control,” Olusanya said.
She said that the team was reconstituted on August 28 with a mandate to dislodge illegal abattoirs, control and enforce policies relating to the transportation and sale of meat.
She said that the team was also charged with the task of confiscating stray animals on Lagos Streets.
She said that the animals posed environmental and safety threats to the people because they could easily spread zoonotic diseases to human beings.
“In addition, all aspects of veterinary premises regulations, veterinary standards and compliance monitoring and enforcement will be covered by the team,” Olusanya said.
According to her, these illegal abattoirs constitute a hazard to the businesses of legal operators who help to ensure that only healthy and wholesome meat is produced for the people.
She said that the team would also monitor the standard of operations of all the approved slaughterhouses statewide to ensure compliance with professional best practices.
