Lagos to go tough on illegal slaughter slaps

In keeping with the COVID-19 protocol of ensuring the safety of all wet market across Lagos, the Lagos State government through the ministry of Agriculture has re-inaugurated the Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance (MEC) task-force with the mandate to go tough on illegal slaughter slaps in Lagos.

The aim of the re-inauguration by the ministry of Agric is to sanitize the red meat value-chain and improve the quality of meat consumed by Lagosians.

Abisola Olusanya, the Lagos State acting commissioner for Agriculture said, the need for continuity and sustained effort against perpetrators of illegalities in the state informed the re-inauguration of the MEC team.

According to Olusanya, the MEC team will take effect from Tuesday, 1 September and will ensure that the dislodgment of illegal slaughter slabs, abattoirs and animal markets. The task-force will also be empowered to seize and confiscate any stray animal within the state.

The MEC team which includes all stakeholders along the value-chain of the wet market in Lagos will therefore monitor and effect zero-tolerance to the existence of illegal slaughter slabs across the state.

“Besides closing and uprooting illegal slaughter slabs, the team would also ensure proper regulation of veterinary activities in conjunction with Lagos state private Veterinary Premises Registration Authority,” said Olusanya.

According to her, the MEC team is also expected to monitor the standards of operations of all approved slaughter houses in order to ensure compliance with professional best practices.

Olusanya opined that the activities of the re-inaugurated MEC team will up scale and help sustained the standard of veterinary regulation and service delivery across Lagos.

“All illegal and unapproved modes of meat transportation and live animals’ transportation would be dully curtailed as only approved modes would be allowed,” Olusanya said.

Hamzat A’Kareem, the general secretary, Abattoir Concessionaire Forum said activities of ilegal abattoirs in Lagos have negetively affected businesses of the concessionaires who currently find it difficult to service loans taken from the bank to run the business.

According to him, a better regulated abattoir will provide more revenue for the government and ensure meat delivered to the public are well monitored.