Friday, March 1 2013

CHIEF Medical Officer Dr Dr Akenath Misir has warned that the consumption of horse meat, from race horses may not be safe for human consumption. “The drug, phenylbutazone,” Dr Misir said, “is used in race horses and is known to cause cancers in human beings.”

Misir made the remarks yesterday at the opening of a two-day sub-regional workshop of agricultural and public health officials at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, in response to a question by a member of the public on whether or not horse meat was safe for consumption.

Phenylbutazone is used in horses as an analgesic. It was banned for use by humans because it may cause severe adverse effects such as suppression of white blood cell production and aplastic anemia.

In Newsday’s February 19 edition, a butcher in east Trinidad reported that meat from race horses are eaten when no one can pay for the upkeep of the animals. The butcher defended the sale of horse meat from failed racing horses whom, he said, no one was willing and/or able to maintain. While some TT citizens would never ever eat horse meat, the butcher said a growing market was developing locally for the meat.

The butcher said that race horses sold were usually those which were unable to perform at a top level in the local horse-racing industry, either due to injury, arthritis or a lack of aptitude for racing, and which were not selected for breeding purposes.

While Europe has been hit by a food scandal involving ground-up horse meat being added to beef to make hamburgers, the sale of horse meat on the open market for local consumption is now threatening the traditional supply of old horses from Arima Race Track to feed the lions of the Emperor Valley Zoo.