Indigestible Foreign Bodies in the Rumen and Reticulum of Cattle Slaughtered at ELFORA Abattoir, Kombolcha Town, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Any nondigestible material ingested by an animal that cannot be broken down by digestive enzymes or rumen microorganisms and remains within the gastrointestinal tract, potentially causing mechanical or functional disturbances, is referred to as an indigestible foreign body. This study aims to evaluate the occurrence of indigestible foreign bodies in the rumen and reticulum of cattle slaughtered at the Kombolcha ELFORA Abattoir, identify the types of foreign bodies, and assess the associated risk factors that contribute to their ingestion. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2024 to June 2025 at the Kombolcha ELFORA Abattoir, Ethiopia. Postmortem examinations were employed to assess the animals and recover foreign bodies, respectively, from the rumen and reticulum of cattle slaughtered at the abattoir. The study animals were selected using a simple random sampling technique from the total cattle slaughtered during the study period. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and Pearson's chi-square (χ 2) test to check associations between the prevalence of indigestible foreign bodies and various potential risk factors. In this study, the overall occurrence of foreign bodies in slaughtered cattle was found to be 35.3% (n = 127/360). A higher prevalence was recorded in females (42%), crossbred cattle (36.36%), older animals (45.7%), and cattle with poor body condition scores (38.1%). Among the assessed associated factors, age (p = 0.025) and body condition score (p = 0.022) showed a statistically significant association with the occurrence of foreign bodies. Plastics were the most frequently encountered materials in the rumen, while the reticulum commonly retained metallic objects. The most commonly recovered nonpenetrating materials included plastic bags (19.68%), sand (18.1%), cloth (8.66%), rope (7.87%), and leather (3.87%). Penetrating foreign bodies primarily consisted of wire (6.29%) and nails (5.51%). Plastic bags were the most commonly recovered foreign materials, followed by sand, cloth, rope, and wire. The findings of this study highlight that the ingestion of both metallic and nonmetallic foreign bodies is a prevalent and significant health concern in cattle slaughtered at the abattoir. Implementing effective solid waste management practices is critically important for safeguarding cattle health in the study area.