Hanoi tightens control over animal slaughter

However, only 150 of these slaughterhouses are controlled, accounting for 21.4%. This number requires more attention to controlling animal slaughter in the city...

Authorities stamp control on pork products at a slaughterhouse in Thuong Tin district. Photo: Van Minh

Strengthen inspection and supervision

According to statistics from the Hanoi Department of Livestock, Fisheries and Veterinary Medicine (Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment), the city currently has 7/8 industrial slaughterhouses that have been invested in and built, reaching 87%, of which 5/8 are operating regularly in the districts of Chuong My, Dong Anh, Thanh Oai, Thuong Tin; 2 are temporarily suspended in the districts of Dan Phuong, Gia Lam; 1 is not yet deployed in Soc Son district. Of the 8 centralized slaughterhouses, 3 are operating, with a capacity of nearly 40%; the remaining 5 and 13 small-scale slaughterhouses are still facing difficulties in investment.

Head of the Hanoi Department of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Veterinary Medicine Nguyen Dinh Dang said that in 2024, the whole city controlled the slaughter of 1.3 million pigs and 14 million poultry, with the total output of inspected animal products reaching more than 308 thousand tons. In the first 6 months of 2025, 9.2 million imported livestock and poultry, 140 thousand tons of products were quarantined; 22.3 million exported livestock and poultry, 135 thousand tons of products were quarantined, an increase of 9% over the same period in 2024.

In order to strengthen the management and control of animal slaughter to ensure disease safety, food safety and implement Directive No. 07/CT-UBND dated April 16, 2025 of the Hanoi People's Committee, on May 30, the Department developed Plan No. 43/KH-CNTS&TY, implementing the topic "Inspecting and supervising the implementation of legal regulations on the slaughter of terrestrial animals within the city area".

Accordingly, in June 2025, the Hanoi Department of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Veterinary Medicine will inspect 35 slaughterhouses in the districts of Thanh Tri, Thanh Oai, Chuong My, Phu Xuyen, Dong Anh, Gia Lam... The contents include: Slaughter control procedures, veterinary hygiene conditions, facilities, equipment; legal documents, operating licenses, food safety certificates; internal control procedures, animal origin, waste treatment; recording and archiving of books related to slaughtering activities and product traceability; collection, payment, and management of veterinary fees and charges...

At CP Vietnam Livestock Joint Stock Company - NM3 Hanoi Branch (Phu Nghia Industrial Park, Chuong My District), the interdisciplinary inspection team of the Hanoi Department of Livestock, Aquatic Products and Veterinary Medicine and the Economic Security Department (City Police) recorded the following facts: The slaughter line is an automatic, clean system; ensuring food safety...

At the buffalo and cow slaughterhouse of Manh Quang Food Company Limited (Tri Thuy commune, Phu Xuyen district): Records, facilities, slaughtering procedures, veterinary hygiene... are all guaranteed according to regulations.

Still difficult

With the large demand for livestock and poultry meat in Hanoi city, about 19,890 tons of live pigs/month, 6,630 tons of chicken and duck meat/month; 5,520 tons of fresh and frozen aquatic and seafood products/month; about 5,520 tons of processed foods/month; about 132 million poultry eggs/month. Meanwhile, the total weight of livestock and poultry meat controlled by the Hanoi Department of Animal Husbandry, Aquatic Products and Veterinary Medicine at slaughterhouses supplied to the market is estimated at more than 13,000 tons/month, including more than 1,500 tons of buffalo and beef meat, 8,500 tons of pork, and more than 3,000 tons of poultry meat.

Thus, it is estimated that the amount of meat from controlled slaughterhouses only meets more than 60% of consumption demand; the rest is the amount of livestock and poultry meat slaughtered at households, small-scale slaughterhouses, imported meat sources and meat sources from other provinces imported into Hanoi.

At supermarkets and convenience stores, control, traceability and basic veterinary hygiene are ensured. However, small, unlicensed slaughterhouses are not yet strictly managed by local authorities; many small slaughterhouses operate at overlapping hours, making it difficult to control; veterinary agencies lack the authority to enforce violations; there are no regulations on intra-provincial quarantine, making it difficult to trace origins...

Regarding this issue, Vice Chairman of Hoai Duc District People's Committee Nguyen Trung Thuan said that although the district's functional forces actively carry out inspection, post-inspection, supervision, and testing of food circulating in the market; promptly detect, prevent, recall, and handle unsafe food, food safety management still faces difficulties in tracing the origin of food businesses in markets; many livestock and poultry slaughterhouses are interspersed in residential areas, making it difficult to manage; the force of specialized food safety officers is still "thin"...

Faced with the above situation, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dang said that the work of strictly managing and controlling terrestrial animal slaughterhouses to improve state management capacity and effectively implement policies of the Central and the city is an urgent task. Tightening the management of animal slaughterhouses also contributes to raising awareness of law enforcement in this field. To achieve the desired results, it is necessary for relevant units and local authorities in the city to strengthen coordination in inspecting, monitoring, detecting and strictly handling violating slaughterhouses, gradually bringing animal slaughter into order, contributing to reducing epidemics and ensuring food safety in circulation...

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/ha-noi-siet-chat-kiem-soat-giet-mo-dong-vat-706816.html