London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Islington 1905
Fiftieth annual report on the health and sanitary condition of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington
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1905]
232
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| 4th Quarter. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| cwts. | qrs. | lbs. | |
| Diseased organs, etc., from slaughter houses | 5 | 0 | 20 |
| Imperfectly preserved tripe (surrendered) | 7 | 0 | 16 |
| 65 turkeys unsound (surrendered) - | 4 | 2 | 16 |
| Unsound meat from shops - | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Diseased meat from shops - | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Unsound fruit | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total cwts. 17 | 1 | 5 | |
Slaughter-Houses.— The number of slaughter-houses in the borough
is 39, or i less than in the preceding year, and to these the Inspector paid
2,227 visits, or on an average 57 to each one.
During these visits more than 33,073 slaughtered animals passed under
his supervision, as compared with 35,516 in 1904, and 40,895 in 1903. These
consisted of oxen, cows, calves, sheep, lambs and pigs. The chief falling off
in the number of animals slaughtered occurred amongst the sheep and lambs,
while there was also a not insignificant decrease among the oxen.
The figures for 1904-5 are given below :—
| 1904. | 1905. | Increase or decrease. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxen | 2,360 | 2,195 | —165 |
| Cows | 4 | 17 | + 13 |
| Calves | 154 | 127 | —27 |
| Sheep and lambs | 32,973 | 30,686 | —2,287 |
| Pigs | 25 | 48 | + 23 |
Mr. Wilkinson, in his report, comments on the fact that the quality of the
animals has been well up to the high standard of the previous year. This is
without doubt the case, for nearly all the butchers in Islington who slaughter
cattle for themselves as a rule only purchase the very best animals, because they
are men who cater for a good class family trade, which would be injured by
selling meat of poor quality.
In addition to the visits of the Inspector, the slaughter-houses have also
been inspected by the Medical Officer of Health and the Chief Sanitary
Inspector, Mr. Leggatt.