Study on Indigestible Foreign Body in Rumen and Reticulum of Cattle Slaughtered at Bahir Dar Municipal Abattoir, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2016 to April, 2017 at Bahirdar municipal abattoir, Amhara National Regional State, to determine the prevalence of rumen and reticulum foreign bodies and to identify types of foreign bodies and associated risk factors for the occurrences of foreign bodies. The study animals were selected by using simple random sampling method from the total slaughtered animals. From the total of 384 examined cattle, 78 (20.3%) were found positive for the occurrence of indigestible foreign bodies in rumen and reticulum. Prevalence of foreign body occurrence recorded in young ( 10 years) 34 (45.95%) respectively while the prevalence rate recorded in poor, medium and good cattle were 33 (35.48%), 29 (22.3%) and 16 (9.93%). The types of foreign bodies encountered in rumen and reticulum were plastic, nails, wires, hair ball, clothes and key. Out of 78 positive cases of foreign body, 51 (13.5%) were occurred in rumen, 21 (5.5%) in reticulum and 6 (1.5%) were encountered in both rumen and reticulum. Among the considered risk factors, age, stomach compartment and body condition score of the examined animals found highly significantly associated (p<0.05) with the occurrence of foreign bodies. The prevalence of rumen and reticulum foreign bodies was lower in local breed cattle 57 (19.38%) than that of the cross breeds 21 (23.3%). It was not stastically significant (p=0.999) between local and cross breed. In general, detection of the foreign bodies in rumen and reticulum causes loss of production and high mortality rate as well it has also impact on animal welfare. Hence, appropriate solid waste disposal system need to be implemented in the study area to prevent health risk of ruminants and environment.