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the Borough was heavily fined for exposing diseased meat for sale. His defence
was, that it was not intended for human food. Very wide publicity was given to
the heavy penalty inflicted, and to the remarks of the Magistrate on the occasion, with
the result, that several shops were closed, and the sale of articles not intended for
human food was discontinued.
A mistake has possibly arisen from loose statements made with regard to the
eating of offal. Offal is defined in the dictionary as "waste meat, the parts of an
animal butchered which are unfit for use or rejected, carrion, refuse, rubbish,"
whereas offal in the butchering trade includes the stomach, sweetbread, liver,
heads, tails, kidneys, &c., and does not mean refuse, rubbish, or waste meat. A
butcher in using the word offal may be referring to the most dainty bit of the
carcase, while a layman may interpret it as designating something objectionable.
A great danger lies in the fact that country knackers, who send horseflesh to
London, occasionally send beef and mutton as well. Cows and sheep that have died
are taken to them, and in most cases are sent by them to London dealers to be sold as
catsmeat. Sometimes, however, an unscrupulous knacker will send such meat carefully
boned with the obviously diseased portion cut off, to an equally unscrupulous
butcher. I examined recently the books of a railway station in Essex, and discovered
that large consignments of meat were sent to butchers in London by a knacker in
the village, although his license did not allow him to slaughter any animal intended
for human food. Boned meat if intended for human food should always be looked
upon with a great deal of suspicion, if not prohibited altogether. The Local
Government Board appreciated this danger and the difficulty of recognising diseased
meat when boned, that in their Public Health (Foreign Meat) Regulations, 1908,
boned meat is prohibited from being landed at British ports.
In connection with the subject of the sale of horseflesh, some reference may be
made to the exportation of worn out horses and the importation of sausages.
From September until the end of March, about 120 to 150 horses a week are
exported from a certain wharf in South London to Ghent. These horses are in a
poor condition, but they are carefully examined to see whether they are in a fit
condition to make the journey, and whether they are suffering from Glanders.
These horses are undoubtedly killed for the purpose of sausage making.
About 110 to 150 horses are exported from a wharf in the City of London to
Rotterdam every week throughout the year, as well as about 45 horses a week from
the London Dock. These horses are in a better condition than those exported to
Ghent, and they are also carefully examined before they are taken on board ship.
These horses are really in a fit condition to work, but on their arrival at Rotterdam,
they are escorted by Government Officials and the Police, to the slaughterhouses