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
Kensington 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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26
THE RATS AND MICE (DESTRUCTION) ACT, 1919.
The council have delegated their powers under the Act to the public health committee, and
each sanitary inspector makes inspections in his district for the purpose of detecting rat-infested
premises and reports to the medical officer of health cases in which the occupiers are not taking
all practicable steps to destroy the rats or to prevent their premises becoming infested.
A rat officer is employed to assist in the work of rat destruction under the supervision of the sanitary inspectors. He has carried out good work during the year as is evidenced by the following table:—
| Number of individual premises visited by the rat officer on receipt of complaint | 195 |
| Total number of visits paid | 2,606 |
| Number of poison baits laid during the year | 104,870 |
| „ „ disappeared | 95,720 |
| „ „ removed by the rat officer | 9,150 |
| Number of premises where concreting of basement floors has been carried out under the direction of sanitary inspectors to prevent the ingress of rats | 18 |
| Number of premises where other repairs have been carried out under the direction of sanitary inspectors to prevent the ingress of rats | 66 |
| Number of sewer defects allowing egress of rats made good | 6 |
| Number of statutory notices served under the Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919 | - |
| Number of premises cleared of rats | 171 |
During the National Rat Week, held in November, special measures of rat destruction were
put in hand in the borough council sewers, at the borough council depots and on railway and
canal property in the borough. A report of the work done was subsequently published.
NUISANCES FROM PIGEONS.
Section 52 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1927, provides that, for the
purpose of abating or mitigating any nuisance, annoyance or damage caused by the congregation at
any place in the borough of house doves or pigeons having, or believed by the borough council to
have no owner, or of preventing or minimising any such nuisance, annoyance or damage which
might, in the opinion of the council, be so caused, the council may seize and destroy or sell any
such house doves or pigeons in excess of such number as the council may consider reasonable, and
take such steps as they may deem necessary for this purpose. It is necessary, however, in the first
place for the council to obtain consent to the measures adopted by them from the person or body
in whom the building or land upon which the birds congregate is vested.
During the year 1931, 351 pigeons were killed and since June, 1928, when the council first
took action under this section, 949 have been destroyed.
INSPECTION OF PUBLIC HOUSES.
In 1930 the council decided that a routine inspection should be made of all public houses
in the borough with a view to securing improvements in the sanitary conditions where necessary.
At the time of writing this report, the total number of public houses inspected has been 51,
and in 28 instances sanitary notices were issued. In the majority of cases the notices required
cleansing work only. Very few serious sanitary defects were found.