The West Gonja Municipal Officer of the Ghana Veterinary Services Mr Samuel Kuagbenu has appealed to the general public to assist in reporting to his outfit anybody who carries meat to markets and meat shops in Damongo for sale without passing it to the abattoir for examination of the Veterinary Services and has also encouraged consumers of meat to look out for certified meat by the Veterinary Unit when they visit the market to purchase their preferred meats.
In an interview with Bole based Nkilgi fm, Mr Kuagbenu disclosed that most of the meat especially from cows sold to the general public are unwholesome because they might be suffering from diseases that are dangerous for the health of the consumers.
He further said it is the duty of his outfit to examine and approved for consumption every animal that is slaughtered in the abattoir which is done on daily basis.
Mr Kuagbenu added that meat is however smuggled into Damongo mostly at night and on the blind side of his outfit and sold to the general public for consumption which can be very dangerous for the health of the inhabitants.
He said it is criminal on the part of those involved to kill animals at home and must be reported immediately they are caught in the act.
He further indicated that most of the sellers of meat try to outsmart his staff naming such smuggled meat as left over meat that is being brought out of the refrigerator to be sold to the general public.
The Veterinary Services department has therefore introduced stamping of meat that is left for the day and to be sold the next day which has helped in partly solving the problem.
He mentioned animals diseases such as anthrax and Bovine Tuberculosis which the animals that are killed and smuggled into the the Damongo community without the examination of the Veterinary Services can transfer to the consumer.
He said Bovine Tuberculosis especially is fatal to unsuspected consumers.
He said some animals even die from unknown diseases but for the love for money, some of the meat sellers cut the throats of the animals to make it look like they are genuinely slaughtered which apart from the dangerous health implications, religiously it is forbidden to consume such products and must be reported to end the menace.
On the movement of animals in and out of Damongo, Mr Kuagbenu called on the Ghana Police to support them track animals that are transported into Damongo without the approval of the Veterinary Services Department.
He said any animal that is transported in and out of Damongo must have a “movement permit” that shows that the animal is in good health condition. This he said will ensure that diseases are not imported elsewhere into or out of the Damongo community since animals equally has strange diseases that can affect human life.
He said the Police do take bribes from those transporting animals into and out of Damongo instead insisting on the right thing.
Source: nkilgifmonline.com/ Zion Abdul Rauf.
