Animal welfare to abattoirs critical

A total of 186 clinically sick cattle were delivered to Meatco’s abattoir, and 294 cattle had to be returned to their farms of origin for various reasons during the 2022–2023 financial year.According to Meatco, the welfare of animals delivered to abattoirs remains a critical tenet in the certification of Namibia beef for export markets.It said this requires vigilance from the origin to the abattoir and identifying all areas of injury or stress that may erode the quality of life of the animal or degrade the quality of the beef.Meatco’s annual report for the period 2022–2023, however, said alarmingly, a plethora of issues were still being recorded at the animal receiving point at its abattoir. "During the post-mortem process, measles was present in seven cases. This requires renewed and vigorous producer education with improved sanitation at farm level to eliminate animals carrying this serious zoonotic disease from those that are delivered to the abattoir."High levels of hygieneMeatco said microbiological compliance remained high, within 97% to 100% of the microcompliance score.The company said of the 53 production days sampled and 88 tests conducted, only a modest eight positive test results were recorded."This speaks volumes about the high levels of hygiene maintained at the abattoir in spite of the advanced age of the infrastructure, which did not materially hamper Meatco's production of superior meat products."It said the welfare of the animals delivered to the abattoir remains critical for Namibian beef to export to local and international markets.Crucial work "The marketing, sales, logistics, and compliance department continues to play an important role in the supervision of meat product production, thereby ensuring that the best quality beef is marketed in the best market possible in order to realise the highest possible returns."According to Meatco, the department and its staff therefore seek to remain vigilant throughout the value chain and foster a policy of cooperation with stakeholders rather than merely identifying problems and imposing solutions, for the simple reason that product quality and safety are more than the responsibility of one department; they are the responsibility of all stakeholders at Meatco.It said a crucial factor in improving and maintaining quality and safety is understanding the needs of different stakeholders and maintaining open lines of communication with all stakeholders at all times."With droughts and market disruptions a certainty rather than a chance occurrence, the compliance division will continue to improve its agility and strengthen its capacity to deal with the ever-changing environments and still consistently meet the key business performance indicators."It said meeting customer and stakeholder needs and expediting delivery of the solutions, combined with higher market revenues, will be the drivers for the department in 2023–2024.

Animal welfare to abattoirs critical

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-14

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Animal welfare to abattoirs critical

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-14

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