WACPAW and EonA held a practical training for the slaughterhouse personnel and manager of JFamco abattoir in Accra (Ghana). Previously goats were grabbed and hoved onto a table and had their throats cut while conscious. Cattle were tethered, forced to fall down and then had their throats slit. The plant did not have any stunner and bad handling techniques became a habit, passed on from one employee to another. For this training we brought a captive bolt pistol (that we bought from a French company and imported with us) and taught them how to use it on all the cattle and goats arriving.
We also illustrated how to handle the animals more humanely- for example, by carrying the small goats in and keeping them upright. The personnel of the plant were attentive and enthusiastic. They have promised to use the stunner as of now, seeing its huge advantages for animal and even workers’ welfare and safety. WACPAW and EonA will stay in touch with the plant and keep supervising them.
Live goats used to be thrown onto the slaughter table:
Safian, director of WACPAW showed how to humanely bring the small goats inside:
Hanging one of the training posters inside the slaughterhouse in Accra to help remind the workers to use new humane handling techniques instead of their old methods that cause pain.
Downer cattle, too weak or injured to walk on their own, are still regularly transported under horrible conditions in Ghana. They are then usually dragged into the slaughterhouse and have their throat cut. All this while fully sensitive to pain. At least this one, arriving during our training, was able to be rendered unconscious first by one of the employees who stunned him with the new captive bolt pistol.
Teaching the manager how to use and clean the captive bolte stunners that we brought with us:
As the people of the plant took our training very seriously, we rewarded them afterwards by donating to them a captive bolt stunner and thousands of cartridges. We will give them a second one soon and conduct follow up checks to make sure these positive changes are permanent.
