Residents of Garissa yesterday found missing body parts of a donkey carcass that had been knocked down by a car on the Bura Road. It is not clear where the meat was taken but there are reports that the meat may have been sold to butchers in the area.

Musa Noor, a resident of Garissa town said it was not common to hear of cases of donkey meat sold to butchers in the area. "We are used to hearing of such things happening in Naivasha and other areas but have never come across it in Garissa," he said.

"I call on residents to purchase meat from authorized butchers to avoid the probability of buying the donkey meat which could harm their health as it had not been inspected," said Rashid Mohamed, the Garissa district livestock officer. "We are liaising with the police to ensure that all the butcheries in the town only stock inspected meat," he said.

He revealed that his department would scrutinise every person who asked for a certificate to transport meat before issuing him with on to avoid such meat being ferried to unsuspecting consumers in nearby towns.

In recent days, cases of donkeys and in some places even dogs being illegally slaughtered and sold to unsuspecting wananchi has been on the increase in many urban centers in the country as unscrupulous businessmen try to make a quick buck.