Surgical Affections in Cattle, Sheep and Goats Presented for Slaughter at Maiduguri Abattoir, North-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Abattoir surveys efficiently document livestock surgical conditions that might otherwise go unreported, particularly in resource-limited settings with limited veterinary surveillance. Despite the economic importance of cattle, sheep, and goats in north-eastern Nigeria, comprehensive abattoir data on surgical affections remain scarce. This study determined the occurrence and distribution of surgical affections in cattle, sheep, and goats slaughtered at Maiduguri Abattoir, Borno State, Nigeria. An observational, abattoir-based study was conducted over five months (April–August 2026) using a full-census approach, examining all animals for externally detectable surgical affections. Only active lesions meeting explicit case definitions, including wounds requiring surgical intervention, were recorded; healed scars and superficial abrasions were excluded. Data on species, sex, age (by dentition), and body condition scores were recorded for affected animals. Descriptive statistics summarized the data, with occurrence expressed as a percentage of the species-specific slaughter population. Of 38,818 animals slaughtered (9,675 cattle, 16,283 goats, 12,860 sheep), 44 bore surgical affections, giving an overall occurrence of 0.11% (0.15% cattle, 0.10% goats, 0.10% sheep). Wounds were most frequent (21 cases, 47.7%), followed by fractures (6, 13.6%), foot/hoof and horn lesions (4 each, 9.1%), abscesses/swellings and hernias (3 each, 6.8%), and single cases of mastitis, ocular lesion, and myiasis (2.3% each). Among affected animals, 56.8% were male, 84.1% adults, and 50.0% in medium body condition. Surgical affections, predominantly wounds and fractures from trauma, occur in livestock slaughtered at Maiduguri Abattoir. These findings emphasize the need for improved animal handling and routine surgical condition recording during ante-mortem inspection.