The police in Zimbabwe have issued a warning to the public against consuming fowl or carcasses of domestic animals that have died under suspicious circumstances.
This warning comes after a 24-year-old woman, Nyasha Muzanenhamo, died from poisoning after eating a piece of meat from a roadrunner chicken. The chicken had earlier fed on trap poison used to kill rats and had succumbed to the lethal substance. The incident was confirmed by the Mashonaland West provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Margaret Chitove.
According to Chitove, Muzanenhamo had put maize fumigation pills in a kitchen hut to kill rats on July 3, 2023. The next day, two chickens strayed into the room and fed on the poisonous pills, resulting in their death. Muzanenhamo then roasted the chickens and consumed a piece of the meat. She started complaining of stomach pains around 8pm and informed her father-in-law, who took her to a nearby clinic. Unfortunately, she died on her way to the facility.
The police have reiterated that it is not safe to consume meat from animals that have died under suspicious circumstances as it could be hazardous or even deadly. Communities have also been urged not to slaughter sickly animals for food as they pose a health hazard.
