Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has raise the alarm on some poisonous animals that are being killed and sold at Mandate Cattle Market, located near College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies at Adewole, Ilorin, Kwara State.
The Ministry in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Temitope Fashedemi, on Thursday in Abuja, said that 40 suspected poisoned animals were treated with organophosphate antidotes, and they responded with marked improvement in their health, leading to recovery.
Fashedemi said the animals had grazed on the forage that was fumigated with organophosphate chemical prior to the incident hence the herders decided to slaughter seven of the very weakly affected animals for public consumption.
According to him, investigation revealed that clinical signs observed were hypersalivation, weakness, and recumbency, which according to him has public health risks, and the consequences may be very severe in the food chain.
“It is important to note however, that there is a Rapid Response Team (RRT) in every state of the Federation, made up of Federal Epidemiology Officer, State Director, Veterinary Services and State Epidemiology Officer, who have been adequately trained by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for emergency situations such as this.
“In this particular instance, the RRT in Kwara State in collaboration with the State Government’s task force, swiftly swung into action to trace and confiscate the meat from the slaughtered animal; these were subsequently disposed in an environmentally friendly manner.
“Other actions taken included cleaning and disinfection of the abattoir that the carcasses were dressed; Creation of public awareness on the danger of consuming the meat from affected slaughter animals was issued.
“Collection of blood and tissue samples for laboratory testing and analysis.
“To avert the future occurrence of this bad and hazardous agricultural practice, the Ministry wishes to inform the General Public that: There is danger in consuming unwholesome meat and other food of animal origin, especially contaminated with organophosphate.
“Meat for human consumption should be purchased at registered, government/private approved spots such as abattoirs, slaughter slabs, meat shops, etc. Such products must have been certified wholesome, fit for consumption by a registered veterinarian.
“Meat from dead animals is unwholesome and should not be consumed. With a withdrawal period of 14 -21 days after injection, ingestion and / or application of drugs or chemicals preparation on animals should be strictly observed before products from such animals are certified for consumption.
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