Standard Approval for an Abattoir in South Africa
A abattoir or slaughter facility has to be certified by an Provincial Executive Office of the province it is located. All abattoirs should be monitored by an Veterinarian Public Health Officer. Lets take a look on How to Start an Abattoir on your Farm.
How to apply to build an Abattoir
- Plan your building layout for your Abattoir.
- Plan how you are going to get rid of carcasses and spills.
- Visit the Department of Agriculture on provincial level.
- Contact the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries
- Changing Room, Health and Safety
Plan your Layout of your new Abattoir
Planning Your building layout is Crucial to your abattoir plan. You need to take your layout plan with when you go an visit the Provincial Executive Officer (PEO)
Including in your Abattoir layout you need to have a processing area, refrigerated store, dressing table, cleaning basin and bleeding cones.
You need to make sure that you will have clean water and depending if you are starting a livestock or poultry slaughterhouse you will need electricity.
Visiting the Department of Agriculture on Provincial level
- You need to go and see your Department of Agriculture on provincial level. If you are not sure how to contact them you can get information from your local State Veterinary Service Office.
- They are there to help, so don’t be afraid to explain to them what your plans are and how you are going to dispose of carcasses and blood. If you are not sure, they will advise you and show you the correct methods of disposing of carcasses, feathers and other spills.
- The Provincial Executive Officer will have to evaluate and approve your building plan. It is highly recommended to visit the PEO first and discuss your plans so that he or she can assist you in the planning of your abattoir
Contact the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries
Abattoirs are governed by the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries and they will have to come and visit your farm or smallholding to discuss water and disposable of carcasses.
Make sure that you have studied your water rights, have approval from neighbours and that you have your protocol in order when they start asking about your planning around fires and natural disasters. Once again, they are there to advise you if you are not 100% sure.
Changing Rooms and Health and Safety
Depending on the size of your abattoir, you might need to employ staff. Staff need changing rooms, toilets and possibly a shower if you are going for a 2000 plus per week slaughter house.
Your staff will need face masks, gloves, safety boots and overalls. Make sure that you include that on your business plan when visiting an PEO
Meat Safety Act
Safe meat refers to inspected meat by a health inspector and approved for human consumption.
Only qualified meat inspectors are allowed to approve safe meat.
Approved meat will have a purple stamp on each quarter of the carcass.
Chickens do not get stamped but need an inspector to approve the meat. In most cases, by South African law you are allowed to train your own inspector that has a minimum qualification of Grade 12. After 6 months, the trainee can do a trade test and become an qualified poultry meat inspector. An owner or manager of a chicken abattoir are never allowed to be an meat inspector.
People to contact for information on how to build a new Abattoir
Veterinary Public Health Contacts in your Province
Question: I would really like to start an Abattoir in my Township but I do not have enough space on my property.
Answer: You can follow the same protocol to apply for an Mobile Abattoir as a normal abattoir.
Join our Facebook Page Farming Life South Africa
Back To Home Page Farming South Africa
Keywords related to this post:
How to Start an Abattoir on your Farm
Can anyone start an abattoir
how to start an abattoir
starting an abattoir in South Africa
Is an abattoir profitable?
What is the law around starting an abattoir
Steps to follow when starting an abattoir
Farming South Africa
Chicken Farming South Africa
Pig Farming South Africa
How to start a chicken abattoir
How to start a pig abattoir
How to start a livestock abattoir in South Africa
Business plan for an Abattoir
Abatoir business plan South Africa
I would like to start a small or mobile chicken abattoir
I would like to start chicken abattoir at my community
I would like to start chicken abattoir at my community at a promised lease land from my couzine which is idlealing in Magalies- Mogale City. The place has no structure but vast.
One also need funding.
I would like to start an Abbattoir on my community for slaughtering small livestock
Tau that would be great. Start planning and then go and see your Local PEO
I would like to start slaughter house in my community
I would like to start a pig abattoir in Radium Limpopo. I have a 23 hectares of land and currently started with pig farming. How much would it cost and how big should it be to eventually slaughter 100 pigs per day.
Can you be able to start Abattoir while you starting to have chicken business or you need a operational business to start the abattoir
You can start a abattoir without farming with chickens. It could be a separate business and also a service to other chicken farmers
I want to start an abattoir at my area
I wanna start our own abbatoir on the farm, i live in a rural area. I’ve been reading this.
Point of correction, you do not train your own meat inspector. I meat inspector is someone with Bio-science qualification with a minimum of 3 years of studying. In accordance to the meat safety act of 2000, a meat inspector must be a holder of at least Diploma in Animal Health and Production or Environmental Health from an approved institution
Yappy I understand your point regarding becoming a meat inspector, however when it comes to poultry, you can train your own. As you probably know meat inspectors has to be present at the day of slaughter to inspect and certify the meat and in some cases charge per carcass. Small scale chicken abattoirs slaughtering 250 birds per week can not afford an inspector nor is it feasible for an inspector to travel to rural areas and inspect only 250 chickens. So in rural areas, you are allowed to train poultry meat inspector as long as they have grade 12 and are not an owner operator.
My information is directly from the Provincial Executive Office in Bredasdorp Western Cape.
Thanks for your input – Regards
I’m interested in building an abourtour but can’t get componies that can supply me with equipment and proper planning.
I would like to start a small chicken abattoir in my community
I worked at Pick n Pay as a butchery manager for 15 years. Then five years ago I started my own small butchery business in Mtubaba Northern Kwazulu Natal. Now we want to start a small abattoir with a small community of this area. We do have registered Coperative. We wanted to know how we can get a grant from Agriculture in order to start our business.
I would like to start an livestock and a abattoir inmy area is this possible to have two major business at once
Yes absolutely. Not only will you lower your business operation cost, but you can make extra income with serving farmers around you
Do I need a PEO when buying a mobile abattoir?
I would like to start a certified mobile abbottoir for rabbits. What can I do and how much I need and where to go.
whoah this blog is great i love studying your posts. Keep up the good paintings! You realize, lots of persons are searching around for this information, you can help them greatly.
I wanth to start a poultry abattoir,I have business plan, abattoir an structure , letters of intent from local retails and p
Big supermarkets. Where can I get funds from department of agriculture
I’m a fresh meat processor student, I’m doing an NQF level 3, which is the highest qualification of the meat teachnician. I want to open my own abattoir and butchery but I don’t know where to start.
So would you please advise on what should I have and what should not do.
I am very sure that it will be covered in your NQ Level 3 course….
Hi, thank you FarmingSA for an informative article on the matter,, I would like to know, for rural areas where it’s only accessible via dirt roads is there any regulation about how far from the road would the abattoir have to be, to prevent dust contamination. Also, for rural and low throughput it does not seem feasible to keep a meat inspector.