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26. MEAT INSPECTION AND ANIMAL PROTECTION
Meat Inspection Regulations
The large factory slaughterhouse at Acton is engaged in the slaughtering and
processing of pigs by a moving line system dealing with approximately 327 carcases
an hour. The Council maintains a staff of authorized meat inspectors and assistants
to carry out the provisions of the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1963, as amended by
the Meat Inspection (Amendment) Regulations, 1966.
Tables 15 and 16 give details of meat inspection carried out during the year.
Poultry Inspection
There are no poultry processing and packing premises in the borough.
Diseases of Animals Act, 1950
Outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease
On the 18th November, 1967, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
made a Special Order declaring the whole of England and Wales to be a Controlled
Area which meant that no movement of animals could take place except under licences
issued by local authorities under the Diseases of Animals Act.
Special arrangements were made immediately for licences to be issued for the
movement of pigs into a large slaughterhouse inside the borough, and with special
routes, where necessary, to avoid travel through Infected Areas. Licences were
refused for movements from Infected Areas, all of which were plotted on maps, as and
when Infected Area Orders were made by the Minister.
The Council's duties included the checking and collection of licences on the
arrival of animals at the slaughterhouses, the ante-mortem inspection of the animals,
the cleansing and disinfection of all vehicles and the disposal of straw and refuse.
From the date of the Order to 31st December 1967, 2,827 licences were issued
involving the movement of 65,633 pigs and the cleansing and disinfection of 1,564
vehicles.
The weekly market, held on Wednesday at Southall, was also subject to special
licence conditions, with separate licences under the Order required for all inward and
outward movements. Special conditions included the requirement that all animals
brought to the market must be sent to a slaughterhouse and not permitted to return to
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