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at all times when slaughtering takes place. Moreover,
in the past, the butcher could slaughter at any hour of
the day or night without any obligation to notify the
Local Authority when such slaughtering was to take
place. It is obvious that in such circumstances much
of the meat prepared for human consumption escaped
official inspection at a time when it is especially necessary
that the examination should take place. This unsatisfactory
state of affairs has largely been remedied by
the provisions of the Public Health (Meat) Regulations,
1924, which (inter alia) require the butcher to give notice
to the Local Authority prior to slaughtering any animal
intended for human consumption. Having regard to the
economic conditions prevailing in the country at the
present time, the provision of public abattoirs will, doubtless,
remain a dream for many years to come, but much
good work may be accomplished by making the best use
of the Regulations referred to above. With this object
in view, a serious effort has been made to obtain the
maximum benefit from the powers conferred on the
Council by these Regulations and from the time they
came into operation on the 1st April, 1925, every endeavour
has been made to inspect the carcases and offal
of the animals which have been slaughtered in the district.
The amount of slaughtering carried on in Finchley
has increased considerably, and, in addition to meat prepared
for local consumption, a proportion of the carcases
are removed for sale to a number of other districts and
to the Smithfield Market.
The work of inspection proved somewhat strenuous
and absorbed a considerable amount of your Inspectors'
time, not only during ordinary hours, but in the mornings
and evenings. Unfortunately, the administration of the
Regulations, particularly in regard to visits to slaughterhouses,
seriously interfered with the other work of the
department, especially house-to-house inspection, which
had to be entirely discontinued. A report on this aspect
57