Materials and methods
Study area: Nigeria is located in West Africa, bordered by the
Benin Republic to the west, the Niger Republic to the north, Cameroun to
the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The country is divided
into 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. The 36
States are further divided into Local government areas (LGA) with a
total of 774 LGAs. Pigs are reared in 30 States of the country. Nigeria
has two seasonal periods, the rainy season which is from April to
October, and the dry season from November to March. The common breeds of
pigs in Nigeria are the Iberian type Nigerian Indigenous Pig (NIP) which
is usually black or pied, others are exotic breeds including, Large
White, Landrace, Duroc, Hampshire, and their crossbreeds (Fadiga et al,
2013).
Selection and description of live pig markets: Organized LPMs
are common in northern parts of Nigeria, while in the southern part of
Nigeria, pigs are sold live at farm gates or as processed pork at
stores. Due to limited information on the LPM operation in Nigeria,
selection of LPM sites were done purposively based on information from
pig farmers, easy access, literature search, logistics, visit to LPM,
the network of distribution, security challenges, and the number of live
pigs traded at markets visited. Hence, four (4) live pig markets were
purposefully selected, all located in Northern Nigeria namely: Katsit
pig market (also called Kafanchan pig market) in Zagon Kataf LGA of
Kaduna State, Pandam pig market in Qua Pan LGA, and Dawaki pig market in
Kanke LGA both located in Plateau State and Numan pig market in Numan
LGA of Adamawa State (Fig 1). Katsit pig market is located on latitude N
90. 34255 and Longitude E 80.164936
at the outskirts of Kafanchan, Kaduna State. It is the largest LPM in
Nigeria, Table 1), it is once a week market with trading activities
taking place on Thursdays only. Located within the premises of the
Katsit pig market is a slaughter slab where pigs bought within the
market are slaughtered and sold to traders and the surrounding
communities. The second market is Pandam pig market located on latitude
N90.52519 and longitude É80.50510,
it is also a once in week market with sales of pigs taking place on
Mondays (Table 1). There is a slaughter point 500m to the market. The
third market is Dawaki pig market, which is located on latitude
N9.2625956 ° and longitude E 9.3401578 °. Apart from pigs, other animals
sold at the Dawaki pig market including sheep, goats, chickens, and
dogs. The Dawaki pig market holds weekly on Thursdays. The slaughter
point at Dawaki pig market is located directly behind the perimeter
fence of the market with an access point for free movement of butchers
and traders. The fourth market is the Numan Pig market located in Numan
LGA of Adamawa State, the market holds on Tuesdays with GPS co-ordinates
N 090.27440’ E12 .002043’