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The government warned butchers, poultry and livestock farmers against the unhealthy practice to avoid the spread of infectious diseases. The warning is contained in a statement jointly issued by the Commissioner for Health, Prof Ikechukwu Obi, and his counterpart in Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Patrick Ubru, in Enugu.
The commissioners raised the concern, following a whistleblowing tipoff by some members of the public that animals which died of flu and other zoonotic diseases were sold in the meat market.
They stressed that the government had activated its departments of public health, veterinary, and local government disease surveillance and notified their officers to investigate the alleged practices.
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Describing the act as unacceptable, the commissioner counselled that eating dead animals could lead to serious health implications for the end users. They reiterated that the crime would not go unpunished as the state health officers were already visiting livestock farms and abattoirs for investigations.
“The government reiterates that the sale of animals that died of unknown causes outside the normal methods of preparation is a serious crime.
“There are grave health risks associated with consuming such meat as it can lead to zoonotic diseases which are easily transmitted from animals to humans,” they said.
While calling on members of the public to remain vigilant and watch out for such practices, the commissioners said the act could lead to epidemics of varying magnitude with severe health consequences.
They also urged the general public to report any suspicion through the following ministries’ hotlines – 08037178703, 08066865511, 08037431577 or 08033375344.
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The News Agency of Nigeria recalled that the Veterinary Department, of the State Ministry of Agriculture in July stormed Afo Awkunanaw Gariki Market where they discovered some people selling uninspected and dead animals as meat to the public.
