By Oye Chukwujekwu
Butchers in Delta Central Senatorial District of the state have called on relevant authorities to stop “the unwholesome activities of some persons in the area who specialize in the slaughtering and sale of donkey meat.”
The Chairman of Delta State Butchers’ Union of Nigeria, Delta Central Chapter, David Akusu, made the appeal when members of the Delta State Consumer Protection Committee led by its Secretary, Mr. Felix Oseji, on behalf of the Chairman of the committee, who is also the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Mary Iyasere, visited them on Tuesday.
Akusu said that the actions of the unscrupulous individuals did not only pose a health hazard to the people of the area who buy the donkey meat unknowingly, but is also negatively affecting them involved in legitimate business though reduction in the volume of their sales.
He decried a situation where a trailer load of donkeys are slaughtered behind Delta Glass, Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area, within a few days and sold to the people with the attendant health implications.
The chairman promised that small slaughter houses scattered around the area will be moved to abattoirs inside the markets, just as he appealed to the state and local governments to provide boreholes for them to compliment the ones privately drilled by them.
Responding, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry assured them that the state government would ensure that the health of the people was protected.
Iyasere advised them to always keep their surroundings clean to avoid contamination of the meat they sell, urging them not to sell meat that are not good for human consumption to their customers.
