Major Causes of Organs and Carcass Condemnation and Financial Losses in Cattle Slaughtered at Adama Municipal Abattoir, Adama, Ethiopia

Abstract

Abattoirs play an important role in examining signs, lesions or specific diseases of surveillance of various diseases that have human and animal health importance. Surveillance at the abattoir allows for all animals passing into the human food chain to be inspected. Monitoring and other conditions at slaughter have been recognized as one way of assessing the disease status of the herd. Abattoir data can be a source of valuable information on the incidence and epidemiology of animal disease conditions, to estimate the financial losses incurred through the condemnation of affected organs. The study was conducted from November 2016 to April 2017 in Adama municipal abattoir, at Adama. The aim of this study was to identify the significant causes of organ condemnation and to estimate the magnitude of the direct financial losses attributed to the condemned organs from cattle slaughtered in the abattoir. Standard antemortem and postmortem inspection procedures were followed throughout the study. The antemortem inspection was carried out on arrival and in the lairage and abnormalities encountered was recorded, followed by postmortem examination through their identification number to detect gross abnormalities and aesthetic reasons that rendered each organ to be rejected from the domestic market. The estimation of financial losses is based on the annual slaughter capacity of the abattoir and considering the market average price of each organ. The study revealed that from a total of 384 slaughtered animals 63 (16.40%) were found to have signs of detectable abnormalities in the antemortem inspection. The clinical signs observed during an antemortem inspection from 63 animals were depression (5.46%), nasal discharge (4.68%), coughing (2.46%), lameness (1.56%) and local swelling ().18%). However, during postmortem inspection offal organs of slaughtered animals shown lesions and subjected to condemnation were liver (62.76%), lung (59.37%), and heart (9.37%). The identified microorganisms responsible for the condemnation of these organs in the study were fasciolosis (30.46%), hydatidosis (32.29%) and pericarditis (5.73%). The condemnation of this much organs resulted in a financial loss estimated to be 3,533,428.50 (ETB) or 152,763.862 USD annually. This study implies that high prevalence organ condemnation, particularly by parasitic infections. This warranties that awareness creation to animal owners on its animal husbandry management and animal health control measures like regular deworming.