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A dose-response experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with Copper (II) Sulphate (CuSO4) at 0, 62.5, 125, 187.5 and 250mg/kg on the growth performance, and carcass and meat quality of broilers (Ross 308). Forty-five 2-week old Ross broiler chicks with an initial average weight of 490±0.6g/bird were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments with three replicates of three chicks per treatment. Diets were fed over the grower day (14-35) and finisher day (35-49) phases. Average daily water intake (ADWI), feed intake (ADFI), water to feed ratios (WFR), average daily gain (ADG), body weight (BW), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured from 14 to 49 days of age. The mean ADWI and WFR were significantly higher in birds fed a diet containing 250mg/kg CuSO4, while ADFI, ADG and BW were significantly higher in birds fed diets containing 125 mg/kg CuSO4 compared to the rest of the treatments (P 0.05). In conclusion, supplementation with 125mg/kg CuSO4 was more efficacious than the rest of the treatments in promoting growth performance.

In 1992 the South African meat industry was deregulated and this led to the formation of the new Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, Act no. 47 of 1996. The Act made provisions for producers to sell animals to customers of their own choice at mutually agreed prices. Thus, producers in the informal sector took advantage of the free marketing system. The result was a substantial increase in the number of animals slaughtered in the informal sector. Unfortunately the requirements for animal identification are not always observed in this sector. Challenges faced by communal farmers which include the multipurpose roles of livestock, lack of slaughter facilities within reasonable distance and lack of access to market information make them less willing to sell their animals through the formal market. The formal market is characterised by meat inspection and carcass classification which scare away the communal farmers for fear of income loss through animal condemnation. The informal sector might not recognise the importance of formal carcass classification. There is need to direct research and development efforts to address marketing constraints faced by communal farmers, and to promote formal marketing of livestock for meat quality assurance and a fair return to the farmers. This review seeks to assess the relevance of formal classification of red meat carcasses to the informal sector, make recommendations on ways to ameliorate the undesirable effect of the classification system on the informal sector, and identify possible areas which need further research to develop the classification system in South Africa.Keywords: Communal farmers, marketing system, meat industry