Current monthly beef production in Huíla is 50,906 kilograms, corresponding to the slaughter of 339 head of cattle in 18 precarious slaughterhouses and one industrial one.
In addition to cattle, an average of 266 pigs (13,343 kg), 113 goats (1,366 kg), 1.6 sheep (32 kg) and 52 poultry (93.7 kg) are currently slaughtered every month.
The information was given to ANGOP on Tuesday by the head of department of the Huíla Veterinary Services Institute, José Chicomo, who said that meat production is ‘good’, although there are still clandestine slaughters.
He said that sheep meat is still low in production, for cultural reasons, because not all regions consume it, but it is suitable for human consumption, depending on how it is prepared.
He emphasised that the meat produced is satisfactory, due to the animals that leave other provinces alive, especially Luanda and Zaire, especially cattle, which in the first half of this year alone transited 6,128 animals.
He added that 3,733 goats, 497 pigs, 421 poultry animal
s and 168 sheep were transported for slaughter during the first six months of this year.
According to the source, most of the slaughterhouses are in Lubango, with five slaughterhouses and an industrial slaughterhouse, while in the other 13 municipalities there is a slaughterhouse in each, with the exception of Cuvango, which also has an industrial slaughterhouse owned by a private company.
‘The amount of meat would be huge if we had control of how many animals were slaughtered, the data could double. This data from our register is what we control. Our technicians in the municipality inspect the animals before and after they are killed,’ he said.
He added that the more than 50 communes in the province, with the exception of the municipal centres, do not have technicians to inspect the rest, due to insufficient staff, a situation that compromises the supervision of the process.
‘We have a lot of clandestine slaughter and the dangers are various: there are many diseases or zoonoses that are transmitted from
animals to people, in pigs there is tapeworm, a serious public health problem, there is anthrax which, if people eat the meat of contaminated animals, harms human health, among others,’ he explained.
He warned that consumers should look more for places that sell inspected products in order to preserve their health, because these are acute illnesses that don’t affect at the moment, but after months, without the person realising it’s the meat, the symptoms are common, mistaken for a headache, high fevers and so on.
José Chicomo explained that clandestine slaughter also happens due to the lack of proper infrastructure for slaughter, as well as a conservation system with cold rooms, which are necessary in the process, because none of the existing slaughterhouses have these conditions, they slaughter for immediate consumption.
He said that they also monitor 12 delicatessens, eight of which are in Lubango, two in Chibia and two in Matala, without monitoring those that are not registered because a large part of t
his production takes place in backyards.
Source: Angola Press News Agency