Shanghai to open 5 abattoirs for sheep

The city government is planning to set up five slaughterhouses for sheep to better regulate the local supply of lamb and mutton, authorities said Monday.

The announcement came in response to media reports of unlicensed private slaughterhouses selling the meats to local restaurants.

Officials are studying the local sheep distribution and will decide soon on the location of the new facilities, said Xu Feng, deputy director of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Office at the Shanghai Agricultural Commission.

The city currently does not have any registered slaughterhouses for sheep as only a small number are reared in the area, Xu said.

"It is not easy to make such a business viable," he said.

Fewer than 400,000 sheep are raised each year in Shanghai, which represents only about 25 percent of the number consumed.

Most of the animals are raised for personal consumption and slaughtered in private abattoirs, Xu said.

Shanghai Morning Post reported that some abattoirs have been slaughtering sheep and selling the meat to restaurants without a license to do so.