On-farm Fatality Rate of Cattle Transported to Lgboora Abattoir

Aims: The shortcomings in animal welfare during the transportation of cattle had led to increased mortality among animals. The aim of this study is to determine the fatality rate in cattle transported for slaughter in the Towobowo abattoir located in Igboora Ibarapa Central Local Government.

Materials and Methods: The fatality of cattle transported to Igboora abattoir was evaluated for four months. The cattle were brought to the lairage at Towobowo before they were slaughtered and sold out. They were usually brought in from Budo Musa and Thursday kraal market in Igboora. 2,196 cattle were brought to the abattoir between January and April, 2019. 12 animals were lost top transportation stress and mishandling. Data were analysed using chi square.

Results: There was not significant effect (p=0.4464) of the fatality rate across the months. Since, fatality is usually recorded mostly from the cattle brought from Budo Musa due to overcrowding in the trucks and under extreme atmospheric conditions with rough driving.

Conclusion: A conclusion of this study was that on-farm fatality could represent an important indicator for evaluating herd management and animal welfare practices. Further analysis and more structured data collection of this method would be needed in order to establish a robust method in sensitizing the farmers against the anomalous practice.