Permission from Concerned Authorities

Practices at abattoir such as bleeding, skin removal, deboning, meat cutting are not very pleasant to see. It needs their operation in an isolated area i.e.,away from residential area The municipality/local bodies take care of such things. During an abattoir practices a number of waste material is also produced and if allowed to accumulate may lead to grave situation of offensive odour and biomass. Proper disposal of waste, problem of sound during abattoir practices have to be taken care. Usually, abattoir is located in the outskirt of town or city. As discussed earlier abattoir practices produces a lot of wastes. Their treatment and disposal is under the governance of State/Central authority. The spread of bone and flesh attract a number of birds and, therefore, an abattoir must be away from airports to prevent bird menace to aircraft's. While establishing an abattoir like other industrial plant, no objection is needed from many of the organization like Municipality/Local bodies, Pollution controls Board, State/central Government. No objection from local airport authority is also required. 

Religious Consideration

Our nation has a diverse out turn. Here people from different communal backgrounds live together. We are having a population of vegetarian who do not favour the slaughter of animal. Not only this, even among non-vegetarian community some opposes the slaughter of pig while others oppose cow. The sentiments of these people are linked to their religion and, therefore, it should not be hurt in any way to keep peaceful communal harmony. It all mean to say an abattoir dealing with pork must not be established in area with population of Muslims and similarly those dealing with beef must not be established in area with Hindus. There are people who do not favour animal slaughter and in this locality no abattoir should be established. 

Direction of the Sun and Prevailing Wind

The sun and prevailing Wind have bearing on the location of site. The site of the abattoir should be such that it does not pollute nearby residential areas. Like all other buildings lighting and ventilation is of primary concern. Direct sunlight is supposed to be a very good natural disinfectant, therefore, their presence particularly in area of effluent treatment must be ensured. 

Site Dimension

Surplus Land for Expansion 

There could be various programme of expansion on lines, of primary, secondary or tertiary processing of meat. You should know that in an abattoir, primary processing pertains to slaughtering of the animal which is converted into carcass while secondary processing refers to the production of commercial cuts including chilling and freezing and tertiary processing means production of ready to eat items such as nuggets, sausages etc. Therefore, it is ideal to have surplus land and for further expansion of the plant as and when required. 

Environment

Freedom from Pollution from Other Industries 

The meat is such a commodity which easily picks up odour of environment and if any such odour prevails as a result of pollution, it affects the quality of meat. The abattoir should be situated away from chemical industries as the pollution caused by chemical industries such as paint, odour, dust, smoke and ash suspects clean and hygienic production of meat. Moreover, the presence of pollutant in environment also affects the livestock in lairage and working manpower. The abattoir should be at sufficient distance from any river to avoid water pollution. 

Distance from Other Buildings 

The abattoir should be at a reasonable distance from local housing and other development to avoid complaints about noise and smell. 

Avoidance of Birds and Insects 

A large amount of solid wastes and by-products is produced from on abattoir. These wastes and by-products attract birds and insect. Therefore, the bushes and trees should be cleaned/cleared around 20 meters of the meat plant for above purpose.

Services

Water Supply 

An adequate supply of potable water must be available. While mains water is to be preferred, well or bore water will also be suitable provided the water meets drinking water standard. Abattoir practices need a lot of water even more than 10,000 liter/ton dressed carcass weight.

Requirement of water for slaughter and dressing of different animal 

The water for drinking/factory use is to be tested from authorized organization. The chemical and microbiological quality of water must be checked carefully. The water is being used for carcass washing, instrument washing, plant washing and other day-to-day practices. Besides these, boiler units, refrigeration units and effluent treatment also need water. The use of hard water may lead to deposition of salts (scale) on the equipment and therefore, should not be used. Source of water requires attention while selecting a site for an abattoir. 

Electric Supply  

Electricity is required not only for lighting of premises but also essential for a number of mechanical operations. With advancement of the technology, the manual practices have been replaced by mechanical one for which electricity is needed. Boiler plant, refrigeration unit, rendering plant, even lighting at inspection point, chiller etc. all require electricity and therefore, site should have a regular electric supply. 

Effluent Disposal 

An effective system for the disposal or renewal of effluent must be provided. The building should be connected with main sewage line or the effluent disposal scheme has to be based on subsurface irrigation and soak-age. The site should therefore, be free draining and not subject to water logging or flooding. Land used for subsurface irrigation need not necessarily be within the abattoir boundary although control over cropping operations above subsurface irrigation trenches would be essential. 

Geological Structures and Features

Analysis of Soil 

Before constructing an abattoir building, the quality of soil should be examined carefully. The soil should be able to bear the load of structure. It should be suitable for good foundations including piling. Sandy and rock soil as found side by the river is considered unsuitable for good foundations. Similarly area with rock soil is also not a preferred one. 

Level of Site 

The site for an abattoir should be at a higher level compared to its surroundings. It is to prevent accumulation of water around the plant and surroundings. Moreover, location of abattoir at higher level facilitates proper drainage of waste water/effluent water. Lodging of water acts as breeding site for flies, insects etc. 

Accessibility

Availability of Road/Rail Transport 

Abattoir is just similar to a processing plant for which raw materials are animals and the carcass/meat is the processed product.Similar to any industries/processing plant/enterprise it is necessary that raw materials should reach to processing site and ready product should be cleared from there timely. It requires the connectivity of site through road/rail line so that raw and processed product could be transported easily. Your native place may be devoid of any broiler farm or layer farm even though the chicken and egg shops are common. This is what transportation is doing now-a-days. Transport to and from the abattoir by road/rail should be available throughout the year for efficient function. 

Proximity with Production/Market Area 

Of course now-a-days distance has been overcome by better transportation facility even though you must be thinking about concentration of industries in a particular area. In fact while setting an establishment, it is of utmost importance to consider about the production area of raw material as well as market for processed product. Nobody would like to spend much in transportation because besides cost it also affects the quality of product. So abattoir should be situated in such a place where it could get regular supply of animals for slaughter i.e., good availability of stock nearby, have good market for meat or have better connectivity with road/rail for quick and safe despatch. 

Availability of Labor 

The abattoir practices involve extensive labor work. Technical and skilled manpower should be available in nearby area. The abundance of it prevents any type of monopoly which helps engage labors at reasonable wages. 

Selection of Site for an Abattoir

Many of you might have gone to purchase meat for own consumption. Have you observed some uniqueness? If you belong to a rural area you must have seen the places where animal is slaughtered. However, in urban areas the animals are slaughtered at a place and after examination and certification of carcass, it is being transported to retail shop of your residential area in a hygienic way.Slaughterhouse, 'Abattoir' and 'Meat plant' all three are synonymous. By saying slaughter a pity picture of animal, which is bleed to death comes in our mind. Therefore, now-a-days it is in practice to use the term 'abattoir' which is a slaughter house, having license from local authority. Meat plant is similar to abattoir but in most of the cases it is private one, whereas abattoir is supposed to be a public/Government property. 

Again returning to uniqueness of an abattoir/slaughterhouse/meat plant you all must have noticed that usually respect to other premises, it is called site and the site selection is one of the important aspect for any enterprise. 

At the outset it should be ensured if there is a need for a new plant that will operate to the capacity, as inadequate business will lead to serious financial losses. The following points you should consider for selection of a suitable site for an abattoir.