Meat in Gulu City Uninspected for Months, Raising Health Concerns

Meat consumers within Gulu City are at high risk of contracting zoonotic diseases as veterinary officers do not inspect meat from the main abattoir in Bardege-Layibi Division. Uganda Radio Network understands that for several months now, residents within the city have been consuming meat from the main abattoir sold in markets that no health official has inspected. This is despite more than a dozen cattle slaughtered daily at the main abattoir.

Kennedy Odong, the Chairperson of Gulu Livestock Association says meat from the main abattoir within the city hasn’t been inspected for the past seven months by any veterinary officer. “For about seven months now, this has been our biggest challenge, there is no veterinary doctor to inspect the meat we sell within this city,” Odong told URN in an interview over the weekend.

Odong says while the situation poses a health risk to meat consumers, it has equally affected their businesses because some customers especially big hotels have shunned buying uninspected meat. According to Odong, the association of butchers within the city has tried in vain to engage the city council officials to resolve the matter and get in place a veterinary doctor.

“As butchers, we are businessmen, and a businessman will try his or her best to ensure their business thrives. So, what we are doing now is to buy healthy animals which we guarantee to our clients that they are safe, once this challenge is resolved, we shall have the animals inspected,” says Odong.

Christine Olok, the Deputy Gulu City Mayor acknowledged the staffing gap at the veterinary department in the city but said meat inspection hasn’t been affected at the abattoir and other slaughterhouses. Olok says the city council has been depending on hired services of veterinary officers from the neighboring Omoro, Nwoya, and Amuru districts who are continuing to inspect meat. 

“These are false allegations; we have been informed by the production department that they have gone as far as borrowing specialists from the neighboring districts to do the needful regarding meat inspection,” she said. But when Uganda Radio Network visited the main abattoir in Bardege-Layibi Division on Saturday morning (November 11), the butchers confirmed no inspection of meat was conducted. A total of 15 cattle had been slaughtered the same morning with over 1,000 kilograms of uninspected meat distributed into the market.

One of the volunteer veterinary officers who spoke on condition of anonymity and was in charge of meat inspection at the abattoir confirmed that they stopped inspection services months ago. “I was told to stop inspecting meat at the abattoir by my boss and this was months ago, I can’t tell precisely which date. Get more details from my supervisor,” he told Uganda Radio Network. 

Robinson Bodomoi, the Spokesperson for Butchers at Gulu Main Abattoir, told URN that for the last month, no health inspector has visited the abattoir to inspect meat before it is distributed in the markets. “We are waiting for the city officials to respond to our request for a veterinary officer to inspect the meat, they have promised this will be resolved but for a month now, this hasn’t happened,” Bodomoi told URN over the weekend.

He notes that while it would have been a good idea on their part to hire veterinary officers to inspect, they are afraid the cost may be high and would eat up their profits. He equally reiterates that all they are relying on to guarantee the safety of meat are recommendation from veterinary doctors from districts where the animals are bought who recommended they are healthy.

The butchers usually buy their animals for slaughter from Kaberamaido, Pader, Kitgum, Oyam, Amolatar, and Lira districts.   

Why Meat Inspection stalled Uganda Radio Network has established that fights over fees paid for both inspection and slaughter of animals at the abattoir caused bitter friction between the city council and veterinary department officials. For instance, slaughter fees per animal were meant to be remitted to the city council while the inspection fees were to be remitted to the veterinary departments to facilitate the veterinary officers' inspection. 

However, Uganda Radio Network understands that the city council declined to split the fees remitted by the tenderer, forcing the veterinary officials to stop inspection. Bardege-Layibi Division has only one substantive Veterinary officer who oversees the city. He works with four volunteer vet officers in the Bardege-Layibi division who were paid a paltry 500 shillings per animal as inspection services.

Gulu City Health Officer Dr. Daniel Okello didn’t comment on the matter and instead referred this reporter to the city Town Clerk. Bernard Opolot, the Deputy Gulu City Town Clerk acknowledged that meat inspection hasn’t been ongoing in Bardege-Layibi Division but was tight-lipped on divulging details.  Opolot said the management committee of the city and the City Council Finance Committee visited the abattoir last week and has since made a raft of recommendations to ensure meat inspection resumes at the main abattoir.