Meat of unhealthy, even dead animals sold in market

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, November 16

Meat of unhealthy animals and even dead ones has been being sold in the Kathmandu valley since long. However, Animal Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act 1998 is yet to be practiced at all to control the hazard even after 11 years of its enactment, ignoring the public health concern.

Dr Bodh Prasad Parajuli, senior veterinary officer of the Veterinary Public Health Office, Tripureshwor, said not a single clause of the Act has been implemented yet. "The consumers are forced to have substandard meat, which is very harmful to human health," he added. "About a dozen of committees were formed to look into the matter but to no avail."

The Act provisions the good status of slaughter house and meat shops, mandatory license from government authority to sell meats, animals to be slaughtered only in slaughterhouses, health test of animals before slaughtering and hygiene test of meats, restriction on adulterated meat and sale of only skinless meats in the market.

"Afore mentioned provisions are yet to be practiced in the country," Dr Parajuli, who is also member of the Animal Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act 1998 Implementation Monitoring Committee, worried. "A slaughterhouse was built in Hetauda six years ago but it was not operated after its establishment. Two slaughterhouses were launched at Thankot and Kakani in Kathmandu some five years ago, however, they became defunct immediately after their operation," he said.

Manoj Khadgi, president of the Nepal Khadgi Samaj Sewa, said that it was impossible to implement the law by an individual or an institution. "All the stakeholders including government authorities should work in coordination," he said.

Khadgi said neither there is quarantine system while importing animals nor health checking system of animals, nor a farm to keep them, nor a slaughterhouse nor a good meat shop. "There is rampant smuggling in animal import and the government is aloof from controlling them. How can you expect healthy meat in such a condition," he said.

LALITPUR: Meat entrepreneurs formed an executive committee to establish a cooperative to make the flesh business more managed by building a slaughter house in Kathmandu. The government has included in the current fiscal budget to provide funds to such cooperatives. About 200 meat traders, who gathered at the interaction programme on 'Animal slaughterhouse site and meat market business promotion' jointly organised by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, and Animal Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act 2055BS Implementation and Monitoring Committee, proposed a well managed slaughter house for healthy meats. --

According to NKSS, an umbrella of meat traders, there are at least 3,000 meat entrepreneurs in the Kathmandu valley.

Dr Babu Ram Gautam, coordinator of the act implementation monitoring committee, said that very few meat traders had applied for the permission license for selling meats. "They should take permission from the Ministries of Environment and Industry, and the concerned municipalities. However, it is still ineffective," he explained. "Such kind of unhealthy meat may cause various ailments belonging to abdominal, heart and mental diseases to human health."

Dr Nar Bahadur Rajwar, Deputy Director General at the Department of Livestock Services, admitted the lapses of the government and assured the law would be implanted at any cost. Niranjan Baral, executive chief at the KMC, emphasised on the public private partnership concept to make it effective.