Veterinary doctors in Kajiado county have cautioned residents against feeding on carcasses, saying the meat is unfit for human consumption.
In the recent past, locals have been feeding on meat from cattle dying of hunger as drought continues to ravage the county.
The residents often prepare soup from the carcass and share it with their neighbours on the verge of starvation.
The locals claim they have a traditional method of identifying if the meat is fit for human consumption but veterinary doctors disagree.
Kajiado vets speak
The vets say during the drought season cattle have low levels of glycogen making them very weak and eventually, the meat PH gets too high for human consumption.
"By the time an animal dies of hunger some have lost all glycogen in their body and the meat PH is too high for human consumption," Hillary Koech a Kitengela-based vet says.
He says besides the meat rotting within six hours of slaughtering, the meat has adverse health implications including skin rash and face swelling among consumers.
Eric Maron, another vet based at Isinya, says locals assume the rash and the swelling goes away naturally but insist the meat has no nutritional value to the consumer.
"The rash and swelling are a clear indication the meat is not healthy to the consumer. The rate at which the meat rots should also be a red flag to the consumers," Maron says.
Aaron Miche, a vet based at Kiserian, cautions locals against the tendency saying it also has prolonged health effects in future.
On the other hand, some locals maintain that they cannot let go of an animal carcass while hungry because they are yet to receive relief food being distributed by the national government.
"Our kids cannot stay hungry when we have carcasses at our disposal. We are yet to hear anybody hospitalized because of feeding on carcasses," Emanuel Pakiteng' an Ilbisil-based farmer says.
