If you are a meat lover, you will not definitely want to visit a slaughter house. It is the most scary place you will ever want to step your feet on. From the way animals are offloaded from the trucks, to the way they are led to the holding sheds, not to mention the slaughtering process. Do not forget the long voyage they had to endure before getting to this final destination.
On arrival
Farmers bring in their animals from all regions across Kenya to look for market in the given slaughter houses. On arrival, the animals are received from the farmers and kept in holding yards. You notice that the animals are only watered but not fed, unless they are going to remain in the stock yard for more than a day.
Surprisingly, the producers in the slaughter house measure the weight of animal just by the look of an eye and judge whether it is good for market and whether it would make good profits. After scrutiny, the animals are driven from the holding pens to the slaughtering area.
In the slaughter house
The slaughtering of these animals is a tedious process which needs to be carried out with a lot of caution. That animals are sentient beings who sense danger and can also tell when everything is amiss is quite true. These animals sometimes turn violent and fight the people around. You have to keep check and guard your safety or else you are caught off guard.
Other than cutting with a sharp designated object, slaughtering involves a number of activities which include;
- Stunning
- Cutting using a sharp knife
- Collection of blood over a trough
- Hide removal
- Decapitation
- Opening of carcass/ splitting
- Vet inspection
- Chilling/ freezing for preservation
Target markets
The target audience are the small-scale meat retailers. Most meat is sold locally. On site processing which involves cutting and deboning is also done to produce retail cuts.
Employment opportunities
This slaughter house has employed about 800 Kenyans. One Dory Wairimu has been in the business since 2014 and according to her, she makes a profit of 30,000 Kshs per day. Another Paul Maina says ‘’ this is a very good business. You can never go wrong. All you have to know is to weigh the animal using your eyes, estimate the price and negotiate with the farmer.’’ He however did not disclose how much he makes in a single day.
Thomas, a farmer from Narok has been in this trade for 24 years. He rears cows on his 100 acre piece of land in Narok and when they reach the slaughter stage, he transports them from Narok to Nairobi in a truck. His truck is spacious enough to hold a maximum of 24 cows without them having to scramble for space. It takes him approximately three hours for the cows to reach their final destination. This is good timing since the global transport policy states that ‘’animals should not be transported for more than eight hours.’’
Challenges faced by the traders
During transport, the traders are faced by a number of challenges which include; harassment by traffic officers on the roads. It doesn’t matter if you are on the right side of the law. These officers will still catch up with and ask for a bribe. They believe that this business is a good business that brings in a lot of profits and so, they should also have their share.
Another challenge is lack of markets for their animals. You could put in so much time and efforts to rear the animals but they end up not getting markets. This becomes a great challenge because for some, this is their main source of income.
