Population dynamics of cattle slaughtered in a transient slab of the international cattle market Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

The influx of cattle into Nigerian abattoirs is on the increase with little or no documentation on slaughtering activities and types of cattle slaughtered. This study was therefore conducted to evaluate the Population dynamics of cattle slaughtered in the study area. The study was carried out at Akinyele international cattle market, Ibadan over a period of 5 weeks between 7am-7pm to ascertain information on the population of cattle slaughtered, breeds, sex, size and the time of slaughtering. The result showed that a total of 1839 cattle were being slaughtered. These include White Fulani (43.2%), Red Bororo (35%), Gudali (19.8%) and Kuri (2%). Slaughtering activities starts at 7am with most of the animals (62.7%) slaughtered between 7-10am from Monday to Sunday. The highest number of cattle is processed on Fridays (35.9%) while the lowest are on Sundays (4.5%). More female cattle (73.3%) were slaughtered compared to 16.7% for male cattle with 57.2% (medium) of the cattle in the mid-age category. White Fulani and Red Bororo were the predominant breeds of cattle slaughtered at Akinyele international cattle market, Ibadan.