ECONOMIC LOSSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SLAUGHTER OF PREGNANT ANIMALS IN JOS

Dunka H. I 1 , Buba D. M 2 , Gurumyen Y. G 2 , Oragwa A. O 2 , Oziegbe S. D 3 and Patrobas M. N 4 . 1. Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. 2. Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. 3. Department of Veterinary Theriogenology and Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. 4. Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History


Introduction:-
Meat consumption as a major source of protein, with human beings at the top of the biological chain, is the main reason for livestock husbandry and slaughter activities in every part of the world (Okoli et.al, 2006). The demand for livestock product in developing countries is increasing due to urbanization, changes in lifestyles especially in dietary habits and increasing disposable income. Meat consumption per capita has doubled in developing countries between 1980 and 2002 and this is likely to continue in the near future (Delgado et al., 1999). Both male and female animals are slaughtered at the abattoirs/slaughterhouses for meat and meat products. It is now a trend in the abattoirs to slaughter pregnant animals for meat, rituals, religious festivals, ceremonies, drug formulation, disease control or for financial purposes (Fayemi and Muchenje, 2013;Cadmus and Adesokan, 2010). Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimated that global meat and milk consumption must double by 2050 to meet population growth and it was also estimated that global population will be 9 billion by 2040 (Onteru, et al., 2010;Zakia et al., 2016).
The growth rate of ruminant production is too slow to cope with the per capita requirements in Nigeria, the human population of Nigeria grows with an estimated 3.5% per year and the livestock resources grow between 0.8% and 2.9% per year (Chaudhari and Bokko 2000;Taiwo et al., 2006). The increased demand for animal protein in Nigeria has led to the slaughtering of not only prime breeding males but also pregnant animals resulting in marked fetal wastages in most abattoirs across the country (Oyekunle et al., 1992).
In Nigeria, fetal wastages have been reported by, Abdulkadir et al. (2008) in Markurdi abattoir, Benue State, Ngbede et al. (2012) in Kaduna State and Bello et al. (2008) in Sokoto State, these studies reveal millions of Naira were lost annually due indiscriminate slaughter of pregnant animals. Pregnancy wastage has been reported to account for about 20-25% of the fall in livestock production in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ngbede et.al., 2012) A law regulating meat inspection in Nigeria has been in existence to conform to World Health Organization (W.H.O.) directives of 1962, that authorize Veterinarians the world over to be in control of meat inspection and that such duty is transferred to the veterinary department. This law (the meat edict, 1968) took effect in 1968. However, despite the provision of this law, which legally outlawed the slaughter of pregnant animals, the practice with its financial and production implications has continued to thrive in this country. However, Lagos State is currently on the verge of implementing this law (Admin, 2016).
Generally, meat inspection in abattoirs provides useful information regarding the quality of meat. However, abattoir surveys have limitations because the data may have been underestimated because of general poor record keeping (Tembo and Nonga, 2015).
The slaughter of pregnant animals has queried the efficiency of antemortem inspections at the abattoir, proved the need for well-equipped Veterinary services for improved herd health management in the state and has frustrated the efforts of livestock husbandry system in increasing animal production to meet the growing demand for animal protein by a growing human population. (Chaudhari and Paul-Bokko, 2000; Addass et al., 2010;Ngbede et al., 2012). This report is intended to evaluate the magnitude of fetal wastages and to assess the economic losses associated with it.

Study area and data Collection:-
A retrospective study was carried out using Jos abattoir records for cases of foetal losses in cattle and goats over a period of five years (2012 -2016). Jos is the capital city of Plateau State is located in the North-Central geo-political zone of Nigeria. It is comprised of three local government areas: Jos East, Jos North and Jos South with coordinates between latitude 9°56ˈ North and longitude 8°53ˈ East, having a total land area of 1,821km 2 . Plateau State is the 12 th largest State in Nigeria with a population of about three million people. The State capital has only one registered abattoir which is the Jos abattoir, and it was established in 1975.

Data Analysis:-
The data were analyzed and presented using descriptive statistics such as tables and a graph chart. Economic analysis of losses from fetal wastage was calculated as described by Ngbede et al. (2012).

Results:-
A total of 1,346 cattle and 1,044 goat fetuses from a total of 26,242 and 4,612 slaughtered animals respectively were documented within the 5-year study period (Table 1). Yearly, total slaughtered figure was highest in 2013 for cattle (6,302) and in 2012 for goats (1,125), while it was lowest in 2015 for both cattle (4,405) and goats (750). A total number of cattle and goats slaughtered at Jos abattoir and the trend of fetal wastages in both species is shown in Figure 1.  On the average, the number of cattle and goats slaughtered monthly was 437 and 77 respectively ( Table 2) and the cattle and goat fetuses obtained were 22 and 17 respectively. The proportion of fetal wastage for the study period was 4.5% in cattle and 22.6% in goats ( Table 2). The highest proportion of fetal wastage was observed in 2012 in both cattle (12.2%) and goat (55.9%) while the lowest proportion (1.8%) for cattle fetal wastage was recorded in 2013 and that for goat (7.4%) was in 2014. Financial losses over the 5-year period due to the wastage of 1,346 cattle and 1,044 goat fetuses when the cost of an average adult cow and goat is ₦130,000 and ₦10,000 (Dunka, H. I, personal communication) respectively is ₦174,980,000 and ₦10,044,000 respectively (Table 2). 2012 recorded the highest fetal wastage in cattle and goat with a value of ₦87,750,000 and ₦6,193,000 respectively. ₦14,560,000 was the lowest amount recorded for cattle in 2013 while ₦570,000 was obtained for goats in 2014.   The high ratio recorded for goats was possibly due to their twinning and rarely multiple births of does compared to cows. The overall higher fetal wastage may be due to the slaughtering of pregnant animals for the purposes of festivals, ceremonies, disease and poverty (Oduguwa et al., 2013).
The financial implications of fetal wastage in this study indicate economic and production losses. Assessing the economic impact of slaughtering pregnant cows and does at Jos abattoir, where an average cattle and goat costs ₦130,000.00 ($424,84) and ₦10,000.00 ($32.68) is ₦174,980,000 ($571,830.07) and ₦10,044,000 ($32,823.53) respectively for the 5-year study period. Annually, ₦34,970,000 for cattle and ₦2,090,000for goats are lost in one State. These economic losses are comparable to an estimated N 8,353,800.00 ($56,828.57) for calf fetal wastage and N104,362,830.00 ($652,267.69) from 2,862 kid fetal wastages at the Minna slaughterhouse reported in a 10-year survey by Alhaji (2011). Mshelia et al., (2015) reported an estimated annual economic value of $302,400.00 for cattle and $257,040.00 for goats wasted in Maiduguri. The indiscriminate slaughters of pregnant animals seen in this and other studies have shown to be occurring nationwide. This clearly undermines the implementation of existing laws and the efficacy of antemortem inspection in Nigerian abattoirs. The result of this study when estimated for cattle and goats in the 36 States of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory annually, shows that about ₦1,293,890,000 ($4,228,398.69) and ₦77,330,000 ($252,712.42) would be lost respectively. This gross production loss if not curbed is presumably going to affect the security of future animal protein sources when human population increases as predicted by FAO (Onteru, et al., 2010;Zakia et al., 2016). Effective implementation of this law, a high 1051 fine for defaulters and strict antemortem meat inspection in abattoirs and slaughter slabs to isolate pregnant animals will eliminate fetal wastages and boost animal production nationwide.

Conclusion:-
From the findings of this present study, foetal wastages were observed in both bovine and caprine species and the rate is higher in goats than cattle. Such wastages impair the livestock production industry and account for huge financial losses. In order to forestall such occurrences, it is recommended that Nigerian meat edict is implemented nationwide and abattoirs/slaughter slabs are equipped with facilities, modern equipment and sufficient Veterinarians for competent services. Livestock farmers should be educated on the laws prohibiting the slaughter of pregnant animals with the consequent production losses and the labeling of meats from pregnant animals for consumer discretion.