Abstract
Limited infonnation exists on the magnitude of feotal wastage in slaughtered cows in Ekiti State. A six-months (February-July 2018) investigative study was conducted to gather information about the incidence of foetal wastage in slaughtered cows in lkole-Ekiti, Ekiti State. The total mnnber of cows slaughtered during the period was 908, reflecting an average monthly kill of 50 cows and daily slaughter of 3 cows from the three central abattoirs observed.
The results reveal that at least one out of every thirty-three (1:33) cows brought to the heard is possibly pregnant. Of the total number of fetuses culled during the survey, approximately 55.56% percent of them were females and 44.44% percent were males. this result is in line with Adama et al. (2010) who had higher incidence of higher female foetal wastage. Of the body length, the length of the female fetuses were averagely longer than the body of the male foetus. The longest average lengths of female fetuses were recorded in the month of April (26.47), June (23.40) and July (28.70) and in respectively. Whereas the longest average length of male fetuses were recorded in the month of March (13.80), April (16.93), and June (19.13) respectively.
The length of the foetus can be used to describe the age of the pregnancy, which showed that some fetuses where observed even in the second and third trimester. However, this peculiar slaughtering were Occurring more during the end of the dry season. 27 foetuses were observed during the period of the research, while approximately one pregnant cow was slaughtered monthly across the abattoirs. The highest number of wasted foetuses recovered from February to May, was in the month of April, the start of the raining season.
The intentions for slaughtering pregnant cows ranging from cash constraint, inadequate capacity to diagnose pregnant cows, lack of enforced animal welfare legislation, and partly ignorance.Also, strict measures can be put in place to ensure that before any cow is slaughtered and proper routine inspection and examination be carried out on the cow to check for signs of pregnancy.
Key words: slaughter, foetal wastage, pregnant cows, inspection.