Welfare implications of cattle transportation and marketing practices at the Kumasi livestock market, Ghana

Abstract

This study was aimed at assessing the implications of transportation and marketing practices on welfare of cattle at the Kumasi livestock market in Ghana. A total of fifty (50) drivers and forty (40) livestock vendors were involved in a study, where participants were interviewed with the use of both closed and open-ended questionnaires. In addition, observations of livestock transporting vehicles and conditions in and around the cattle market were made. The descriptive statistics tool of the SPSS (version 25), was used to analyse the data, and results presented in frequency and per-centage Tables. The findings indicate that about 52% of cattle transported to the Kumasi livestock market were sourced from various towns within Ghana, using vehicles such as tricycles and mini-trucks. The remaining 48% were obtained from neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso (30%), Mali (12%), and Togo (6%). About 74% of vehicles used for transporting the animals were either without roofs, side walls or are poorly ventilated, and thus expose the animals to heat from the sun, excess winds (possible cause of pneumonia), and suffocation. Mortalities recorded in transit were 2.5% and 1.3% for animals sourced from neighbouring countries and from Ghana respectively. On arrival, the cattle are kept in an open space with no shelter, and provided with drinking water twice a day (usually in the morning and evening). The cattle could stay in the mar-ket for up to a week. The poor nature of the transporting vehicle, absence of shelter at the market, and level of mortality indicate the poor state of the welfare of cattle, and need urgent intervention.