By Priscillah Owomugisha,
REGIONAL
The Resident District Commissioner Masindi Emmy Ngabirano has cautioned residents and traders against selling and consumption of carcass and wild meat in the area over high risks of ebola disease spread
Ngabirano says that his office has been receiving reports of people selling animal carcasses and wild meat in the district which he says is causing risk of contracting disease mostly from the animals.
The RDC alleged neighboring Murchison Falls National Park is a harbour for sale of wild meat revealing that Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is conducting an operation to crackdown the sale of the animal carcase and wild meat. He said once the suspects are arrested, they will face the law.
In September, Ngabirano intercepted an unidentified farmer transporting a dead cow on a Boda Boda to the market in Pakanyi Sub County along Masindi-Kigumba road.
The RDC who was on his routine monitoring visit to the area said he became suspicious after realising that the farmer was carrying a dead cow and he decided to interrogate him where he was taking the carcass.
The farmer told RDC Ngabirano that the cow had died to a snake bite and he was transporting it to Kafu junction roadside market in Kimengo sub-county for sale however, he was asked to return back home and bury the cow.
According to Ngabirano, this act shows that most of the meat sold at Kafu road side market is unfit for human consumption and banned selling of such meat in the district.
“This kind of act facilitates theft of animals and consumption of unfit meat in the district that must be fought decisively”, Ngabirano said.
This is not the first time meat consumption at Kafu roadside market is questioned. In 2016, the then executive director UWA Dr Andrew Seguya caused uproar in the country when he revealed that Baboon and other wild animals meat was being sold at Kafu road side makert.
However, the vendors at the marked dismissed the allegations as false and malicious and even threatened legal action against him.
Dr . Charles Lagedo attached to Masindi main hospital says meat from animals that die of snake venom is risky to humans when they consume it.
He adds that the snake venom can affect the people especially those with weak white blood cells when they consume such meat.
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