Evaluation of Slaughter and Carcass Characteristics from Indigenous Beef Cattle in Six Abattoirs of Tanzania

The objective of the present study was to examine the slaughter and carcass characteristics and overall market value of slaughtered beef cattle in six abattoirs from six agro-ecological zones of Tanzania. The study was carried out in three phases between June 2013 and September 2014. The information from 3,133 sampled animals revealed that slaughter characteristics, carcass quality and market value from beef cattle differed due to differences in regional origins, sub-breeds, age, sex and the grade of the animals. The overall market weight of indigenous herd ranged from 202 to 266 kg live weight and carcass weight ranged from 100 -129 kg. The Ankole sub-breed produced the heaviest (P<0.05) carcasses while the Gogo and Maasai were the lightest (P<0.05) groups with 255 kg and 204 kg, respectively. The heaviest meat produced was observed from the Ankole group with 129 kg while from the Gogo were lowest up to 105 kg. The dressing percentage was not significant (P>0.05) in both breed and animal origins, and these ranged from 50-52. The highest (P<0.05) monetary value per animal was found to be from the Tanzanian special with USD 166 and lowest (P<0.05) from Tanzanian No. 3 with USD 117. It is concluded that, animals slaughtered in the abattoirs are producing carcass of low weight and monetary value and much is remained to be done to improve their carcass weight and quality and overall monetary value pre-slaughter.