Evaluation of Cattle Slaughtering Efficiency at the M'pila Slaughterhouse in Brazzaville (Republic of Congo)

Abstract

The majority of cattle breeding herds in Congo are made up of the N'Dama breed. Despite their hardiness and trypanotolerance, they have low productivity, which explains the massive importation of meat products, specifically beef. The objective of this study was to evaluate the slaughter yield of cattle according to their place of origin at the M'pila abattoir. The study involved 180 heads of cattle of different origins for the period August-October 2022. Barymetric measurements (height at withers, chest circumference, ventral circumference, and scapulo-ischial length) on live animals and weighing of hot carcasses for yield calculation were performed. The results obtained in this study show an average live weight of 438.75 kg; an average carcass weight of 204.93 kg and therefore an average yield of 49.97%. The barymetric measurements indicate averages of 144.74 cm for scapulo-ischial length; 172.77 cm for chest circumference; 137.5 cm for height at withers and 196.15 cm for ventral circumference. The average age of this study was 4.11 years, for 4 different breeds (N'dama, M'bororo, Goudali and Foulbé). These results made it possible to determine the beef performance of animals from Congo and Cameroon, respectively 56.88% and 51.72%. Nevertheless, it appears that the hazards of transport and feeding affect these results.