Owners too stand in the blazing sun as they wait with obvious frustration on their faces because the process of slaughtering and skinning an animal at the slaughter slab takes three to four hours, hence diminishing butchery owners' chances of selling meat that day. "Usually they manage to slaughter four head of cattle a day, which means we would have to come back the following day," laments one of the butchery owners who paces about as if that would help speed up the process.
This is the frustration that about 57 butchery owners experience every day as their businesses face bankruptcy.
Molepolole, with a population of about 75,000 people, has 57 butcheries but no abattoir despite the fact that Veterinary Services Act requires that the slaughtering of livestock should be done in a clean environment, and that the meat should be inspected for diseases. However, this sad state of affairs does not only affect Molepolole, but the entire region, Kweneng District Council (KDC) Chairman Motlhophi Leo confirmed yesterday.
