Health inspector: St James wholesale, not restaurant, was found with crocodile carcass

WESTERN BUREAU:

The St James Health Department says the discovery of a crocodile carcass in Montego Bay two months ago was not at a restaurant, as was initially reported, but at a wholesale establishment

Speaking to The Gleaner on Friday, Sherika Lewis, the acting chief public health inspector for St James, said the crocodile’s internal organs had been removed and the parts stored in a freezer at the establishment.

“What I want to say is that it was not meat found in a restaurant; it was the carcass of the crocodile that was found, and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) confiscated the carcass. They should be taking further action, to the best of my knowledge. The carcass was taken to Kingston,” said Lewis.

“The establishment was a wholesale, and the carcass was found in their freezer. Also, NEPA advised that they will be taking legal action under the Wildlife Protection Act,” added Lewis.

Lewis’ explanation came a day after she provided the health department’s report to the St James Municipal Corporation’s (StJMC) monthly meeting, where she briefly responded to councillors who wanted an update on the seizure of the crocodile carcass.

“The animal was eviscerated, meaning the intestines and the internal organs were removed. That was what the public health inspectors saw in the food establishment, so it was not the meat that was being prepared for human consumption. We are still up in arms as to what they were going to do with that,” Lewis told last Thursday’s meeting.

During the StJMC’s previous meeting in December, it was disclosed that the offending establishment, which to date has not been identified, was previously ordered closed by the health department for sanitation violations. The crocodile’s body was discovered during a follow-up inspection to confirm that those earlier violations had been resolved.

Endangered species

The illegal trade in crocodile meat has been ongoing across Jamaica, allegedly due to crocodile meat’s supposed aphrodisiac properties, with reports suggesting that the meat is sold for $2,000 per pound in parishes including St Elizabeth, Clarendon, and St Thomas. Crocodiles have however been classified as an endangered and protected species in Jamaica since 1971, with offenders facing fines of up to $100,000 or 12 months in prison under Section 6 of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Regarding St James’ ongoing meat inspection programme, councillors at Thursday’s meeting were told that 784 animals were slaughtered for meat weighing 46,000 kilogrammes during December, of which 2,300 kilogrammes were condemned. Meanwhile, 157 containers of imported meat weighing 3.2 million kilogrammes were inspected, and 2,080 kilogrammes of those meats were condemned.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com