Veterinary board say slums main market for illegal meat

When five suspects were arrested for trading suspected donkey meat at the Burma area of Kamukunji Sub County on October 27, 2023. [Samson Wire, Standard]

The Kenya Veterinary Board (KVB) has identified informal settlements as the main consumers of uninspected meat in the country.

The board noted that those living in the humble settlements in Nairobi, Nakuru and Kiambu are the most affected by the existential threat posed by this meat.

This comes in the wake of reports that cases of smuggling of donkey skin were on the rise in the country, with the meat being ferried to major towns.

Benson Kibore , a member of the board, says uninspected meat posed a major threat to the country's food security, with the illegal vice on the rise.

Dr Kibore noted that over 50 per cent of residents of Nairobi lived in the informal settlements where uninspected meat was sold.

"A case of infected meat could kill tens of people and hence the move to up our game as we deal with all those involved in this illegal trade," Kibore said.

Speaking in Naivasha during a stakeholder's workshop, Kibore noted that the situation had been worsened by the issuance of fake movement permits for livestock.

The permits, according to the senior government officer, were issued by imposters or retired veterinary officers.

"We recently rescued over 1,000 donkeys that had been ferried from Kajiado and were meant to be slaughtered in the Kedong area where there is an illegal slaughterhouse," he said.

Kibore accused a powerful cartel for the rise in cases of cattle rustling and slaughtering, with some government officers supporting the illegal trade.

Allen Azegele, from the Department of Livestock, who also acknowledged that those living in slums were the most prone to the likely dangerous meat and its unscrupulous mongers, said the government was working with stakeholders and non-governmental organisations in the fight against the illegal business that had put the lives of many in danger.

"This initiative is to address the safety of livestock products as some traders are putting the lives of Kenyans in danger through the sale of the uninspected meat," Dr Azegele said.