Mulot slaughterhouse in Narok West Subcounty has been closed indefinitely after it failed to meet the public health standards.
The slaughterhouse was closed after officials from the county paid an impromptu visit to the structure and found it unfit to operate as a facility for slaughtering animals for human consumption.
Those who made the visit include County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia and a host of officers from the Public Health Department.
Also present during the occasion were Narok Chief Officer in charge of Preventive Services Lucy Kashu, her Livestock counterpart Queen Kimorgo and County Director of Health Francis Kiio.
The officers issued the prohibition order after making an impromptu inspection of a number of butcheries in Narok town and three slaughterhouses at Ewaso Nyiro trading centre.
Only the Mulot abattoir failed to meet the public health standards.
At the abattoir, sickly animals that were on the verge of breathing their last were seen lying outside, struggling for their lives.
The abattoir managers however negated the fact that the animals had been brought to be slaughtered, alleging that the animals had been weakened by long-distance trekking.
Lotiatia warned the public health officers against laxity in carrying out their responsibilities.
Lotiatia directed them to be aggressive in inspecting all the slaughterhouses in the county to avoid exposing the public to consumption of unhealthy meat.
The County Commissioner advised livestock farmers to find better ways of disposing of their infected animals other than taking sickly animals to slaughterhouses, where they end up being slaughtered and meat consumed by unsuspecting customers.
“The public health officers should make regular impromptu visits to the slaughterhouses and butcheries. Any butchery selling meat without the official stamp should be closed immediately,” he said.
The public has been asked to be on high alert and report any farmer who transports a sickly animal to the slaughterhouses.
Kashu threatened to fire public health officers who neglect their crucial responsibility, saying her department will not sit back and wait to see unhealthy meat being sold to the public.
She asked the public to look for the official stamp on the meat they buy from butcheries, to prove that the meat was well inspected.
