Meat inspection and animal welfare practices: Evidences from north-western Himalayan region, India

Aim: The present study was conducted to assess the animal welfare measures for safe and wholesome meat production as well to understand different roles performed by delegated institutions in ensuring quality meat production. Materials and Methods: Semi-structured interview schedule was administered to 40 butchers and 40 veterinary officers of state department of animal husbandry, Himachal Pradesh. Result: It was found that open slaughtering was common (87.50%), animals did not have sufficient water provisions and often the lairage premises were devoid of adequate light thereby making ante-mortem and post mortem inspection difficult. Off feeding, offering potable water to animals before slaughtering was also less followed practice. Therefore, many a times the welfare of animals was not taken into consideration. Regular meat inspection was performed as an additional duty, by few (22.50%) veterinarians only. It was found that veterinarian's role was restricted to meat inspection only. The issue of license for slaughtering activities was the responsibility of district administration/municipal bodies. Conclusion: The study recommends appropriate legislations for greater role of veterinarians so as to promote quality meat hygienic practices thereby promoting animal and human welfare.


Introduction
slaughtering methods/practices, meat inspection procedures as well as role of institutions in ensuring Globally the incidence of food borne illness arising quality meat production in the state of Himachal out of animal origin products is on the rise.Foods of Pradesh, India.animal origin (meat, eggs, milk) are one of the most important causes of human deaths worldwide as a Materials and Methods result of contaminated food [1].Many of the recent The present study was conducted in different zoonotic infections have originated from animal or agro climatic zones (8 districts namely Kangra, Kullu, from products of animal origin [2,3].Meat, eggs and Chamba, Shimla, Lahual & Spiti, Hamirpur, Bilaspur milk are animal products that are potential source of and Shimla) of Himachal Pradesh, India.A semi transmission of several food borne pathogens.Meat structured interview schedule pertaining to study was production is still largely an unorganized activity in developed and administered to 40 veterinarians working India.Tropical climatic conditions of India favoring in these regions of the state.The information was also microbial growth in meat, poor abattoir hygiene and collected from forty meat sellers and slaughtering sanitation measures and absence of surveillance personnel in and around Palampur subdivision of network on meat borne diseases further increases the Kangra district who were randomly selected and risk associated with meat borne zoonoses [4].Abattoir interviewed to supplement information from veterinary practices more specifically inspection procedures officers.Palampur subdivision was purposively selected along with welfare of animals therefore, need to be due to ease of data collection.Field visits and personal ascertained.Thus, the present study was conducted to observations were made to assess meat inspection and assess the status of abattoir practices in terms of handling practices of animals.Visits to slaughtering again cleaned at the selling outlets.Joshi et al. [5] also places in rural as well as urban regions were also made reported that in Nepal, in the absence of modern to assess the welfare of animal before and during the slaughter houses animal slaughtering was common in slaughtering practices.streets, riversides, and open pasturelands.In the Indian state of Nagaland, all town and village slaughtering

Results and Discussion
places of pigs were carried in open air [6].Preferred meat species: Among all the animals Resting places of animals: Relatively, high percentage slaughtered in the region, sheep and goat were the (92.50%) of butchers had resting places (not strictly most common species of animals slaughtered in the lairages) for the animals.The butchers/meat Sellers region apart from poultry.In fewer areas, pig purchase the animals in larger numbers ranging from 1 slaughtering was also performed (Table -1 ).
to more than 70 and kept them in resting places where Slaughtering practices: Open slaughtering of animals animals were regularly grazed and slaughtered daily as was a common feature (87.50%).Most common per the prevailing demand.Majority (72.50%) of the slaughtering sites were open spaces beneath bridges, resting places had capacity of 40-70 animals with local water streams, under bushes and forest areas with average dimensions of 35x15 Sq. feet.However, the at least some water source for discharging the meat resting spaces did not have sufficient lighting and byproducts and waste matter.No designated slaughtering water provisions as the animals were drinking water areas were marked for poultry as they were slaughtered during daytime grazing in nearby water sources, mainly in the shops or in the houses/surrounding areas of streams.chicken sellers.The water from these streams was Animal slaughtering practices: Mostly, slaughtering used to initially clean the carcasses which were later  slaughtering (3-4) in a day made the possibility of Meat inspection practices was restricted mainly to killing in front of others.Practice of keeping the post mortem inspections .In majority of instances, ante animals off fed before slaughter was remotely mortem examination, visits to slaughtering places, practiced (12.57%) as butchers believed that keeping other animal welfare considerations (preslaughter animal off-fed would reduce body weight of animals.animal handling, off-feeding, offering drinking water Similarly offering of drinking water was rarely etc.) were not taken into account by the veterinarians practiced (17.50%).The measures against protection in the absence of adequate legal enforcement mechanisms.from dogs, flies and insects were also inadequate in

Role of municipal bodies and district administration
majority of resting places as well as in the meat shops in meat inspection: The level of co-ordination (90%).To ensure quality meat production, meat slaughter between village panchyats/municipal bodies were houses must have facilities for light, ventilation for observed to be low as very few times (22.50%), the hygienic dressing of carcasses, cleaning and disinfection bodies had requested the veterinarian to perform meat of utensils; light for inspection, ventilation for fresh inspection.Further, involvement of veterinarian in air, removal of foul odour , wholesome water, disinfection & cleaning of utensils, instruments and hands, lighting issuing and cancellation of license was not practiced at and ventilation [7].However, most slaughter houses in all in majority (95%) of the cases.Carcass rejection India lack basic amenities like light, ventilation, water and stamping of meat was therefore a rarely followed and sanitation [8,9].
practice.Similar findings have also been reported in Although, modernization of slaughterhouses in Nepal, where veterinarians were not responsible for urban as well as rural regions should receive top meat inspection in the absence of appropriate acts and priority yet socio-economic, religious impediments rules [5].Regulation of slaughter houses, meat shops have denied any improvement in modernization of and tanneries is primarily the function of municipal slaughterhouses in India [10].The only proposed bodies in urban regions of Himachal Pradesh [7].The modern slaughter house in the region (Himachal law specifies that granting and cancellation of license Pradesh) faced stiffed opposition from local bodies to meat shops/abattoirs rests with the municipal [11].Further poor handling of carcasses by meat bodies.In rural regions, the corresponding authority handlers may be due to lack of awareness, illiteracy on lies with the village Panchyat/civil administration their part [12].
(deputy collector).Therefore, role of veterinarian is limited only up to meat inspection denying their role in Meat inspection by veterinarians: As it was issuing and cancellation of licenses which precluded evidenced in Table-2, in the majority (95%) of their role in ensuring quality and wholesome meat instances no full time veterinarian was appointed for production.Regular meat inspection and approval of meat Inspection.The percent of veterinarians engaged abattoir facilities by municipal bodies in developing in regular meat inspection in the region was also countries can be one of the measures to reduce the risk meager (22.5%).Meat inspection is an additional of post slaughter meat contamination [14].This may veterinarians/technicians for meat inspection in many require effective co-ordination between different states of India.Therefore, there is an urgent need to train butchers and meat inspectors [10].Identification institutions involved in meat inspection procedures.
of condemned meat, meat borne diseases and their The pivotal role of practicing veterinarians in improved common signs, symptoms, control and prevention can meat and milk inspection led to significant reduction be some of the areas of continuous veterinary education of prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in US [15].
training programmes to veterinarians.Similarly, awareness

Trainings and capacity building on meat acts,
programmes at the level of producers, meat handlers legislations, animal welfare and zoonoses: The and consumers with regards to the safe handling of awareness among the veterinarians regarding latest meat are essential [14].developments/modifications on legislations/meat acts Suggested measures to improve meat inspection to ensure quality meat production was observed to be and animal welfare practices: Rank order of measures low.This was also reflected in the training programmes to improve meat inspection and animal welfare conducted for the veterinary officers by the state measures was elucidated (Table 4) from 40 veterinary department of animal husbandry.Although the state officers from different districts of the state of Himachal department had a well planned training calendar to its Pradesh.These measures can help in improvement in entire staff with earmarked annual budget of Rs 4.86 the quality of meat production in India. million for year 2011-12.However, none of the training programme was conducted on meat inspection acts,

Conclusion laws byelaws and on animal welfare (Table-3).
To reduce the risk of meat borne associated As a result, none of the veterinary officer/official diseases/poisoning inculcating hygienic slaughtering had participated in any training on meat inspection, practices is foremost measure of reducing the meat borne zoonoses, meat acts and bye-laws.The contamination of carcasses.Further, it would also state department of animal husbandry is a major check meat borne infections among the large number stakeholder in awareness generation to the farmers of butchers and handlers of raw meat in the meat and livestock producers.However, majority of meat supply chain of India.Strengthening rural network of handlers in India receive training informally through veterinarians ,adoption of new legislations giving family members or colleagues only [12].Most of the appropriate capacities to veterinary administration butchers working in meat sector in India are not and their partners can only mitigate the increased risk adapted to newer meat processing techniques and of zoonoses (including meat borne) in India [4].quality standards.Also, there is no cadre of qualified

Table - 1
[5]istribution of Butchers/Meat handlers according to meat inspection practices was done in the early hours of day as per the prevailing responsibility to veterinarians in many states of India demand in the absence of sufficient meat storage and [10].In the absence of appropriate acts and rules, meat preservation facilities.Ante mortem inspection was inspection was carried as off and on activity by either altogether absent while in some instances post mortem veterinarian or municipality sanitation/health official were being performed by qualified veterinarians. in Nepal[5].Absence of sufficient meat inspectors Provisions of separating the animals by slaughtering increases the risk of diseases transmission from from the animal to be slaughtered was lacking in all the slaughter houses [13].instances.However, in some regions, fewer animal Meat inspection activities performed by veterinarians:

Table - 2
. Level of co-ordination between State animal husbandry department and Municipal bodies/Panchayat/ District administration (N=40)

Table - 3
. In service Trainings to Veterinary officers on Meat inspection (2011-2012) Annual Training Plan 2011-2012 for In-service Veterinary Officers, State Animal husbandry Department, Himachal Pradesh Table-4.Rank order of measures to improve the quality of animal slaughter/meat inspection It should be mandatory for veterinary officer to visit the meat shops on one fixed date of Month 31 (77.67%)IV 5 Full time public health veterinarians are needed to be appointed for meat inspection.25(62.50%)V6Incentivesforveterinarian to ensure meat inspection at odd hours in terms of service charge, vehicle allowance etc.Figures in parenthesis indicate percentagesMeat inspection and animal welfare practices: Evidences from north-western Himalayan region, India Source: