Retrospective Assessment of Foetal Wastage at the Lafenwa Slaughter SLAB (2021 - 2025)

Abstract

The indiscriminate slaughter of pregnant food animals is a major issue in livestock production, leading to significant economic losses and depletion of future herd stock in many developing countries, including Nigeria. This study retrospectively evaluated the incidence and trend of bovine foetal wastage (FW) at the Lafenwa  Slaughter Slab in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, over a five-year period. Slaughter Slab records on the total number of female cattle (cows and heifers) slaughtered and the number of foetuses recovered (foetal wastage) were analysed for the period spanning January 2021 to December 2025. The annual foetal wastage rate (FWR) was calculated as the percentage of foetuses wasted relative to the total number of female cattle slaughtered. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis and trend evaluation. A total of 217,714 female cattle were slaughtered, with a total foetal wastage of 25,509 foetuses during the study period. The annual number of female cattle slaughtered and foetal wastage cases showed year-on-year variations. The overall mean annual FWR for the five years studied was 11.71 %. The highest FWR was recorded in 2025 at 18.1%, and the lowest was in 2021 at 10.17%. The findings indicate that a considerable proportion of female cattle slaughtered during the study period were pregnant resulting in substantial foetal losses. This represents a significant economic loss to the livestock industry and may negatively affect future herd replacement capacity and a threat to food security. Comparative analysis shows that these findings are consistent with recent reports from other regions of Nigeria, including Jalingo (12.3%) and Kano (14.5%), suggesting that foetal wastage remains a widespread issue linked to inadequate enforcement of ante-mortem inspection and poor pregnancy detection practices. The increasing trend observed in this study underscores the urgent need to strengthen the implementation of existing animal inspection protocols and the adoption of practical innovations such as portable pregnancy detection technologies to reduce losses, while also enhancing awareness among livestock owners and traders about the long-term reproductive, economic and food security consequences of foetal wastage.