The National President of the National Butchers Employers Union of Nigeria, Comrade Sunny Omokaro, has raised alarm over the acute shortage of veterinary doctors in Edo State’s slaughterhouses, warning that the situation poses a serious public health threat.
Speaking in Benin City after a recent inspection of abattoirs across the South-South geopolitical zone, Omokaro described the situation in Edo State as dire, lamenting that over 70% of animals slaughtered daily are not inspected by qualified veterinary personnel.
“It is a clear and present danger,” Omokaro declared. “By law, no animal should be slaughtered for public consumption without thorough pre-slaughter and post-slaughter inspection by a veterinary doctor. Sadly, in Edo State today, this law is being violated daily because the state has only eight veterinary doctors—four in the field and four confined to office duties.”
He stressed that the absence of veterinary oversight could have catastrophic consequences, warning that in the event of a meat-borne epidemic, it would be impossible to trace the source due to the lapses in inspection.
“In the past, veterinary doctors were stationed permanently at abattoirs, supervising the entire slaughter process from start to finish. Now, they are hardly seen, and the abattoirs are left in the hands of butchers and health officers who are often overwhelmed or untrained,” he noted.
Omokaro also decried the deteriorating state of slaughterhouses in the state, accusing local government councils of negligence and complicity by granting licenses to individuals without proper facilities or professional training.
“The law is clear, but the authorities are looking the other way. The local governments collect revenue daily from these abattoirs, yet they ignore the rot and the looming disaster. They must wake up to their responsibility, ensure the presence of veterinary doctors in all abattoirs, and stop licensing unqualified operators,” he stated.
Omokaro called on the Edo State Government to urgently recruit more veterinary doctors and deploy them to all slaughterhouses, warning that failure to act could result in a public health crisis.
“The time to act is now. Government must take this matter seriously before we face an outbreak that could have been prevented,” he warned.
