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251
1908
thoroughly sound cattle, which it will be then necessary to protect from infection.
Half measures will be, as they always are, a failure, and therefore it is necessary
that the animals to be bred from in the future must be free from taint
or blemish, or even predisposition to tuberculosis, especially in view of the fact
that not only is this freedom from tuberculosis a necessity to ensure sound meat,
but also uninfected milk. The importance of the question is thus greatly
enhanced, for it would not be too much to say that for one person who has
contracted tuberculosis through eating infected meat, which is invariably lightly
or well cooked, a thousand persons, mostly children, have contracted it
through drinking infected milk, which is almost as invariably uncooked,
and so the germs of the disease are consumed in a vigorous state. The body
politic has too long and wilfully shut its eyes to the condition of the English
herds, and it is therefore blameworthy. It must now open them as well as
its purse.
Slaughter Houses.— There are on the register 34 slaughter houses,
or 3 less than in 1907. The proprietors of these did not apply for a renewal
of the licenses, and therefore they lapsed. Seven of the slaughter
houses are licensed for the killing of small cattle only, while one is licensed for
small cattle only and not more than three beasts a week. Another is licensed
for killing small cattle only and for the purposes of his own shop. In two
instances the hours are specified during which animals may be received, with
the additional proviso in one case that not more than five large animals shall be
killed per week, while in the other case the killing is limited to the requirements
of the licensee's shop.
In the returns which were obtained from the butchers, it is seen that there
has been a steady decrease in the number of oxen killed in the slaughter
houses; thus from 1904 to 1908 they have been respectively 2,360, 2,195, 2,172,
2,146 and 1,941, so that 416 fewer oxen were slaughtered during 1908 than in
1904. This is due to the larger amount of killed and dressed meat now purchased
by butchers, some of whom undoubtedly do not desire to run the risk of
loss should the animals on being killed, prove to be diseased. When they purchase
the carcase they see what they are getting, and, therefore, their risk,
if any, is only small.
No cows were killed. This trade, which at one time assumed large proportions
in the borough slaughterhouses, is now practically dead, having been
driven, and rightly driven, away by the rigid inspection the animals received.
R 2