Mobile abattoirs

Dr T Bergh

Meat Safety Consultant

M.D Mobile Slaughter technologies

Trainer- Game meat inspectors/examiners

Curriculum Vitae

• Government State Vet Services: 1977 -1981 & 1997-2012

• Private Veterinarian: 1981- 1997 & 2012-2018

• 1997 till currently –Primary interest in game meat legislation and training.

• Consulting for building and upgrading of abattoirs as well as compliance audits

• Developing & building of mobile and transportable container abattoirs since 2012-2018

A solution to RSA conditions

• Game hunting and harvesting for different scenarios in game farming systems

• Trophy/biltong hunting

• Small stock

• Cattle

• Small enterprises

• Emerging farmers

• Organic farming

Game

• Because game cannot be delivered alive to the abattoir the abattoir is taken to the game

• Reduce cost by cutting additional steps in the slaughter process (all steps are done on the farm)

• Minimizing weight loss due to transport of live game to the abattoir where possible

• Prevent stress related diseases e.g. Shipping fever/capture miopathy

• Reducing cost by avoiding capture cost and translocation of game to sales.

continue

• Once off rectifying of breeding numbers within a week on game farms allowing the animals to settle as opposed to biltong hunting that drags on through 4-6 months.

• Professional hunters doing the culling minimising possible wounding of animals

• Etc.

Cattle and small stock

• Assisting emerging farmers accessing the commercial market without high cost of transport to approved abattoirs.

• Servicing a number of clients at one service point

• Immediate approval and chilling of carcasses

• One of the more sustainable solutions of harvesting and slaughtering of cattle and game within the FMD infected and protected zones.

Current status of mobile abattoirs

• Primary trial slaughters were done on game with an initial approval of processes.

• Initial trial slaughter of cattle within the FMD zones of Mpumalanga –Bushbuck Ridge.

• A final trial slaughter is in planning around the beginning of April 2018

• FMD protocols currently in place –can be achieved. Some challenges as to the availability of Skukuza as the only designated abattoir per the current FMD protocol. This will need revision.

Abattoir ability and statistics.• Ability to slaughter up to 3-3500 kg game carcasses/shift.

• Ability to slaughter 10-15 cattle per day

• Fully dependent of solar power with back up from conventional sources.

• Need about 2500 liter water per day to slaughter

• Weighs about 3000 kg can therefore be towed with normal bakkie.

• Hot water and chemical sterilization

• Pneumatic operated dehiders and saws

• Solar power winches and compressor plus high pressure cleaning system.

• Stainless steel interior with epoxy coated floors.

• Can be deployed in an hour for operations

The mobile abattoirDimensions -5 x 2,5 x 4,3 m high

Abattoir deployed for harvesting

Abattoir inside view

Platform lifted to be stowed

Some Equipment

Crane in lowered position for travelling

Winch secured to travel

Current chiller unit needed for the abattoir

• The above unit owners

• Currently training game meat examiners, slaughterers & abattoir managers under their auspices

• The mobile unit is used as a hands on facility to do practical training

• Such a trained team will then be ideal to be set up as a SMME to harvest where needed.

Possible business opportunities.

• Suitable for game harvesting where bigger operations are needed.

• Ideal SMME operation where a service is rendered for smaller game farmers who do not a full time abattoir.

• Can be set up as a co-op where a group of farmers own the unit for a more efficient slaughter/culling management is needed in a district.

• Ideal for operating within communities where cattle and small stock needs to be slaughtered in smaller numbers.

• Dual purpose unit to service game and livestock.

• Ideal where operations are building and where a fixed abattoir is too costly to service a growing market by simply adding another abattoir to the fleet.

Happy hunting