Indigestible Rumen Foreign Bodies - Causes of Rumen Impaction in Cattle, Sheep and Goats Slaughtered at Addis Ababa Abattoir Enterprise, Ethiopia

A study was conducted at Addis Ababa abattoir to assess the prevalence of indigestible rumen foreign body impaction and to identify the causes in apparently healthy slaughtered cattle, sheepand goats. Out of the total 1,152 ruminants (384 cattle, 435 sheep and 333 goats) examined, 269 (23.4 %) were found infected. Of these 137 (35.7%) were cattle, 81 (18.6%) were sheep and 51 (15.3%) were goats. The prevalence was compared among species of animals and a significantly (p> 0.05) higher occurrence of foreign bodies was observed in cattle (35.7%) than sheep (18.6%) and goats (15.3%). The prevalence of foreign bodies in female and male ruminants was 22.7% and 23.8%, respectively (p> 0.05). Among the different age groups, significantly (p< 0.05) highest prevalence was observed in animals' of > 4 years old and the lowest was in animals' < 2 years old. The indigestible foreign bodies were plastic bags, cloth, ropes, leather, hairballs and metals. A plastic bag was detected at higher level with prevalence of 46.1% from the rumen. Results of this study indicated that the prevalence of rumen impaction in ruminants is quite high. Therefore, concerned body should work against contamination of the environment with foreign bodies in the study area.