Foetal wastage in cows slaughtered in some selected abattoirs in Kaduna state

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine foetal wastage among cows slaughtered in three (3) local government areas of Kaduna State, namely; Sabon Gari, Jema'a and Kaduna South abattoirs. A total of 166,924 cattle were slaughtered in the abattoirs from year 2015-2019 and among which were 70,180 and 7,341 total cows slaughtered (TCS) and total pregnant cows slaughtered (TPCS), respectively. The data collected were subjected to descriptive analysis using Statistical Package of SAS to generate frequencies and percentages and were presented using simple tabular techniques. The results obtained shows that December had a higher number of cows slaughtered (7208) and pregnant cows slaughtered (783), while November was the month with higher foetal wastage (13.71%). Higher number of pregnant cows (16104) was slaughtered in 2015 while higher foetal wastage (11.86%) was obtained in 2016. The results also indicated that Kaduna South had higher number of cows and pregnant cows slaughtered (49361 and 5173) respectively, with Jema'a having higher foetal wastage (12.29%) during the study period under review. In conclusion, month of November, the year 2016 and Jema’a had higher percentages of foetal wastage (13.71%, 11.85% and 12.29%, respectively). Proper ante mortem examination as a mechanism to facilitate early detection of pregnancy should be conducted before slaughtering cows.