Browsing by Author "Kaanyi, Monica"

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    Factors responsible for the poor quality of hides and skins in Kasasira subcounty, Kibuku district.
    (Busitema University, 2025) Kaanyi, Monica
    Hides and skin are one of the key products derived from livestock with application in various industries as a raw material especially in fashion and design. Poor quality of hides and skin is a limiting factor to the development of leather industry in Uganda. The quality of hides and skin is greatly influenced by several pre- and post-slaughter factors which are the key determinants of its acceptability both in home and foreign market. This study aimed to investigate these factors, assess farmers’ awareness and knowledge of hide and skin quality and identify skins and hides defects among animals slaughtered in Kasasira sub-county, Kibuku district, Uganda. In this cross-sectional study, questionnaires and observation checklists were used to collect data about the above objectives This study involved a total of 168 respondents, 69% of which were male and 31% females who to which questionnaires with structured questions were administered. It is noteworthy that 97% were farmers, 4.2% livestock traders, 3% abattoir (Slaughter slab/ground) workers and 1.2% veterinary personnel. This study revealed very low awareness levels about the hides and skin quality which would be worrying for the industry. Results of this study highlighted several critical factors affected the quality of hides and skins including ectoparasites, diseases, poor transportation, poor animal husbandry practices, informal slaughter techniques, poor slaughter facilities etc. Scratches were the most identified defects in all cattle slaughtered with about 74% showing scratches. These were followed by 49.4%, 39.5% and 36.2% thin hides on slaughter, beating/wipe marks and with external parasite defects like ticks’ marks respectively. These results were similar to preslaughter defects found in goat skins. Wounds/scars and scratches were the most found defects. Contamination of hides and skins was the principal post slaughter defect identified in all the slaughter places with over 70% of the hides and skins contaminated with dirt and litter. These were followed by flay cuts and bruises accounting for 56.9% and 53.6% of the hides respectively. While gouge marks were the second most identified defects in 43.2% of the skins. There is need to implement proper animal husbandry practices including adequate healthcare, proper feeding and handling dehorning by farmers, capacity building trainings conducted for farmers, slaughter house workers, traders and handlers of skins and hides. And the leather industry should develop and implement quality control measures to ensure that hides and skins meet certain standards for quality and value.