Don’t kill that goat in your backyard – police
You may have already sharpened you knife and identified the tree in the back of your yard that you intend to use as the spot to butcher the ram. But be warned, killing that goat in your backyard could cause you problems.
No animal intended for human consumption must be slaughtered anywhere else but a slaughterhouse.
Sergeant Damian Harry, praedial larceny prevention officer, told THE STAR that under the Public Health (Butchers ) Regulation 1989, the court can charge you up to $1 million for failing to observe the law.
VALID LICENCE NEEDED
The law states that no person shall operate as a butcher unless he has a valid licence granted by the Local Board of Health. He must also have a valid food handler’s permit.
“When you are going to kill an animal, the law requires that you give the police at least 12 hours notice of intention,” Harry said.
The law places a duty on the butcher to ensure that animals are taken to the place of slaughter at least six hours prior to slaughter.
Minister without portfolio in the agriculture ministry J.C. Hutchinson said yesterday that he welcomes the police’s announcement that they will be targeting entertainment events with a bid to finding out where the meat is coming from.
“This is something that they should be doing not only at Christmas time, but right throughout the year,” Hutchinson said.
He said that Jamaicans should observe the provisions under the Public Health (Butchers) Regulations to have animals butchered at an approved slaughterhouse.
“When you kill it in your backyard, all kinds of things can happen,” Hutchinson said.