From the outside, all appears spick and span at the Goa meat complex. Financials, however, tell a butchery story with losses pegged at around Rs 10 crore in the last two years and maintenance costs adding up to Rs 16 crore in the last three years. While the minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Mauvin Godinho is counting the losses and looking ahead for a turnaround, there is a lot that needs to change on the ground if Goa Meat Complex is to get back into business. Slaughter and waste disposal systems need to be reviewed and marketing aspects have to be streamlined.
Top on the list is Mauvin's talk of the latest technology being used at the abattoir. The fact of the matter is an outdated pneumatic bolt stunner is being used and not the automatic gun. Stunning is a process of rendering animals unconscious prior to slaughtering and a stunning machine is normally used in the process. A meat complex which boasts of latest technology is using an outdated gunning machine and that too is currently non-functional. Workers have no other option but to resort to cruel means to virtually hammer the animals to death and that too right in the open, completely flouting all slaughter procedures. To make matters worse, the license of the Goa Meat Complex to slaughter expired in October and has not been renewed till date.
The revised procedures mandate a certificate issued by doctors from the state it is being sourced from stating that the animal is "fit for slaughter". This is a change from the earlier practice of certificates which stated "fit for human consumption". These revised processes should be streamlined immediately. Another hiccup that requires attention is the process of transporting animals back when rejected at the meat complex after an ante-mortem procedure.
Waste disposal has been another issue that has raised a stench. The meat complex has appointed an agency to process waste at the dry rendering plant. The agreement however puts no curbs on bringing in slaughtered waste. This has allowed entry to all sorts of unrestricted waste from outside the complex, including trucks carrying worm-infested waste, inviting furious protests from the locals in the vicinity fearing health hazards. The agreement needs to be reworked and there should be some curbs on waste from outside. Unhygienic surroundings will always invite protests from locals, and rightfully so.
Now, the economics: The meat complex has been handling only around 30 animals per day against its capacity of 120. This is where the numbers don't add up. The outgo towards salaries and other overheads have been almost three times more than the net income. The complex has 56 staff members and 1 veterinary doctor. To make it viable, there need to be more animals brought in for slaughter, coupled with a well-defined market strategy. While Mauvin talks about the financial bleeding at the Goa Meat Complex, he should pay a visit to the complex more often and get a feel of the plain realities on the ground.
