Requirement of law on mandatory slaughter of livestock at abattoir not working - Economy Minister

YEREVAN, November 7. /ARKA/. A requirement of the law on mandatory slaughter of livestock exclusively in slaughterhouses is not working, Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan said today in parliament.

According to him, the reason is that the law does not provide for enough mechanisms for bringing violators to justice.

He said when veterinary inspectors reveal sale of meat of animals slaughtered outside slaughterhouses they can only halt the sale and have no right to seize the meat.

"We are focused on changing the regulations so that the laws work and no one try to ignore slaughterhouses," he said.

Starting from July 1, 2020, home slaughter of livestock is banned in Armenia. The decision is aimed at preventing the sale of unhealthy or contaminated meat.

All meat selling shops and market stalls need to have documents certifying that meat sold by them is supplied from licensed slaughterhouses.

The requirement for obligatory slaughter of livestock exclusively at slaughterhouses entered into force in Armenia on January 15, 2020, but it caused discontent among cattle breeder and meat traders, who staged a number of protests. As a result, the authorities agreed to delay the application of this requirement until July 1, 2020.

In accordance with the memorandum signed on January 16, 2020 between the Food Safety Inspectorate and the slaughterhouse representatives, slaughter of pigs in slaughterhouses is e carried out for a maximum of 5,000 drams per head, small cattle - for 3,500 drams, and big cattle - for 10,000 drams. 

Delivering cattle to slaughterhouses within a radius of 30 km is free in the case of transporting no less than three heads and 3,000 drams per head of cattle in other cases.  -0-