•  December 2000February 2001 Local News Headlines

Friday, February 23, 2001 - Web posted at 8:08:33 AM GMT

Mariental abattoir under threat
CHRISTOF MALETSKY

FUTURE operations of the N$8,5 million Mariental abattoir are in the balance following the recent export by Agra of 40 000 small livestock to Saudi Arabia.

Thomas Horn, Director of Operations at the Farmers' Meat Market, which owns the abattoir, said the shipment of two consignments of sheep and goats to Saudi Arabia was not in the country's interest and would result in a severe shortage of animals for slaughtering at their Mariental abattoir.

Agra has a 10 per cent stake in Farmers' Meat Market whose spokesperson Pieter Hugo refused to comment on the corporation's decision to export the livestock to Saudi Arabia via an Australian company called Rural Exporters."

"We don't want to quarrel with Farmers' Meat Market in the newspapers.

The statements will only fuel the situation," he told The Namibian.

Horn said his company would table a proposal for discussions on the issue during next months' special small stock congress of the Livestock Producers' Association at Keetmanshoop."

"March 1 is the D-day.

If producers maintain that they will export, we have to reconsider the operations of the abattoir at Mariental which employs 70 people.

We are not threatening them.

We want to remind them that live exports have no value-adding," he said in an interview.

Horn said Farmers' Meat Market had experienced a 36 per cent drop in small livestock slaughtering since last year.

The abattoirs are capable of slaughtering up to 4 500 animals a week but now only slaughter between 2 000 and 2 500 animals a week.

The figure recently dropped to around 1 000 a week.

Horn also expressed concern about the welfare of the animals being exported to Saudi Arabia stating that there was normally a mortality rate of one to two per cent.

This would mean that at least 300 animals could die during the 18-day journey to Saudi Arabia.

Chairman of the South African Livestock Welfare Co-ordinating Committee, Fred Tomlinson, also expressed about the welfare of the animals.

He said studies showed that about 40 per cent of animal shipments from New Zealand to Saudi Arabia were disastrous and they expected the Namibian animals to experience "terrific cruelty".

The National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NCSPCA) said it had inspected one of the two shipments when it docked at Durban last Friday and confirmed that 15 animals had died by the time they reached Durban while 10 had had to be put down.

A further 24 animals had to be treated.

Tomlinson said many the animals had problems with foot-rot which indicated poor hygiene.

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