KOTA KINABALU, 23 July 2026 – Sabah has 12 public slaughterhouses and 36 private slaughterhouses operating across the state, Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister Datuk Jamawi Jaafar said.
Winding up the debate on the Animals (Amendment) Enactment 2026 at the Sabah State Legislative Assembly sitting on Thursday, he said the public slaughter facilities comprised four ruminant slaughterhouses, five poultry slaughterhouses and three pig slaughterhouses.
The private slaughterhouses, meanwhile, consisted of 33 poultry slaughterhouses, two ruminant slaughterhouses and one pig slaughterhouse.
Jamawi said the 2026 Animals Enactment amendment would strengthen slaughterhouse regulation through a clearer and more structured licensing system.
He said the licensing mechanism would be detailed through regulations made under the enactment, enabling licensing conditions, operational standards and technical requirements to be tailored to different types of livestock without the need to amend the primary legislation each time changes were required.
“This approach is consistent with standard legislative practice, whereby the enactment provides the overarching powers and framework, while procedural and implementation matters are spelled out in regulations,” he said.
According to him, this approach allows the licensing and regulatory system for the livestock industry to be implemented more flexibly, in line with current needs.
