5 private abbatoirs ordered closed

TO ensure that meat sold in the markets are clean, the city veterinarian has cracked down on slaughterhouses that fail to comply with sanitary standards.

  Five of the 31 private slaughterhouses or abbatoirs that failed have been ordered closed by the  City Hall. Mayor Michael Rama approved the closure of the slaughterhouses  in barangays Inayawan, Mambaling, Labangon, Punta Princesa and Lahug.

  The Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) had conducted a surprise inspection and found out that the five slaughterhouses didn’t meet minimum sanitary standards.

  They have to stop operating until they can comply with requirements, said city veterinarian Alice Utlang.

  Private slaughterhouses that are registered and licensed by the DVMF are issued health certificates before its operation

  Butchers were also screened and records were checked in the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or the police, said Utlang.

  Utlang said that out of the five private slaughterhouses ordered closed, three have made representations to their office asking for reconsideration.

  “They requested to be re-evaluated and be reconsidered since they told us they’ve already improved and fixed their facilities” said Utlang.

  The city veterinarian will still check these three private slaughterhouses’ compliance to sanitary standards before the closure order is lifted.

  Utlang added that those who failed their surprise inspection, “will stop operating until such time they can already comply with the requirements./Correspondent Tweeny M. Malinao