Illegal abattoir found in Qormi

Nine tanks filled with pigs’ heads were discovered in a Qormi garage yesterday when animal welfare officers went to investigate reports that the owner was operating an illegal abattoir.

Officers also found a basin filled with the insides of an animal that had just been slaughtered in the garage owned by 70-year-old Ġanni Bajada of Ħamrun.

Mr Bajada, whose son works at the government abattoir, will be facing court proceedings for animal cruelty and breaching food safety regulations, animal welfare inspector Emanuel Buhagiar said.

After receiving anonymous reports about illegalities going on in the garage, in Bajjada Street, animal welfare officers went there yesterday morning with the police.

When they entered Mr Bajada’s garage they found that it doubled as a mechanic and woodwork workshop.

Further inside the garage they found a tiled area that was used as an abattoir, Mr Buhagiar said, adding that bits of meat were found on the worktop.

The intestines of a freshly killed sheep were found in a basin in the tiled area that contained slaughtering knives, hooks on which to hang animal carcases and salt for preservation. Freezers were filled with meat ready to be sold.

The remains of a sheep were found hidden between two walls and in the woodwork area. Moreover, officers found the tanks containing pig heads that were probably used to make sausages, Mr Buhagiar said. Animal welfare officers also found live animals that included some 50 sheep, 20 goats, several chickens and ducks.

Some of the sheep were not tagged according to law. The tags, allocated by vets at the abattoir, ascertain that an animal can be killed for human consumption. It was not clear whether the animals that were tagged had been properly labelled or whether the mark was fake.

The meat found in the garage will be destroyed if it was established that the animals were not killed in hygienic conditions and the meat was not stored at optimal temperature. These unsanitary conditions increase the risk of food poisoning.

The tagged live animals will be taken back to the abattoir. Those that are not tagged will be examined by vets who will try to determine their origin.

If found guilty, Mr Bajada faces a maximum one year in jail and a €46,500 fine. Earlier this year a man was fined €500 when he admitted to slaughtering animals in an illegal abattoir in the Swieqi valley.