The Samoan government has been urged to put off plans to build a national abbattoir as proposed in the budget for 2003/2004.
The MP for Aleipata Itu Pa I Lalo, Su'a Atonio, said the national herd is too small to warrant a national slaughterhouse.
He said if an abbattoir was built, production would have to stop frequently.
But the Prime Minister said the important issue was one of health.
He said that even if only a thousand beasts were slaughtered they needed to be checked to make sure the meat was fit for human consumption.
