Livestock dealers Association at Abuko Abattoir have been complaining of the poor living conditions for both dealers and their livestock especially in the rainy season.

Speaking to our reporter, the President of Livestock Dealers Association in the Abattoir Mr. Musa Njie outlined the numerous challenges they are facing especially with their livestock saying that, heavy rainfall has seriously affected their cattle because they lack sheds to shelter them.

Cattle owners normally buy the animals outside the country.

Mr. Njie explained that when the livestock is exposed to a lot of rainfall they lose weight and that has an effect on their price. Mr. Njie noted that with the Tobaski slated by mid-August the availability of sheep and its price is worrisome.

When we buy livestock early and the rains come as the case is now, a lot of the cattle are exposed to sickness and premature death. This affects our business and as the feast approaches we are bound to increase the price of rams no matter their size or weight.

Njie therefore called on the Government to help them in the rehabilitation of the Abattoir to  meet a healthy and appreciable standard. Everything at the abattoir is in a poor condition at the moment. This is the place we get our living from and that is why we are calling on the Government to intervene since it also belongs to the Government.

He said the health of everyone at the Abattoir is at risk because it is the place where livestock is slaughtered for consumption and therefore it should meet healthy standards with periodic visits by health officials.

The Abuko Abattoir Kebba Tumina Sanneh also outlined on the similar complains, saying that, most of the animals they sell in the Abuko are not resistant to water during the raining season most of them die at the end, because most of the ruminants are from other parts of Africa.

Sanneh also informed that, the Abattoir is not a political place; we are here to serve every Gambian, even before it used to be Kanaili farm property, if the Abattoir is properly modernize it belong to every Gambian, we should look at how the place can be standardize Sanneh explained.

The Abattoir is now forty years old because it was constructed in 1978, before only twenty animals used to be slotted a day, but now we blotter three times then the figure meaning that it is too small to cope with the demand.

He finally explained that, lot of the facilities at the Abattoir are not functioning at the moment, we are looking to upgrade the place because this is the only Abattoir in the country he concluded

By Tumani Baldeh