Prevalence of foreign bodies in stomach of pigs slaughtered at the Kumasi Abattoir, Ghana

The study was conducted on pigs slaughtered at Kumasi abattoir to determine the occurrence and nature of foreign bodies in the stomach of pigs. A total of 75 pig stomachs were randomly selected from pig slaughtered within the five month period and 20 out of 75 (26.67 %) were found to contain foreign bodies. There was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) between sex, age and prevalence bodies in the stomach of pigs, though pigs less than one year had more ingested foreign bodies (10.7 %).  Analysis of 20 pigs positive for foreign bodies in the stomach revealed that plastics (polythene bags) was the most prevalent (14.67 %), followed by bristles (6.67%), stones (2.67%) and almond seeds (2.67%). Lack of proper management system and improper waste disposal particularly of plastic materials seems to play a major role towards the frequent occurrence of foreign body in pig stomachs. Therefore, proper disposal of wastes from households should be given the needed attention. Veterinarians and animal health workers should also be aware of this condition in pigs in Kumasi. Keywords : Slaughtered pigs, Ingested foreign bodies, Stomach content analysis,  Kumasi, Ghana