London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Woolwich 1934
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
This page requires JavaScript
TABLE No. 26.
| Month. | Cattle. | Sheep and Lambs. | Pigs. | Calves. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 231 | 1,913 | 2,012 | — | 4,156 |
| February | 199 | 1,258 | 1,774 | 1 | 3,232 |
| March | 239 | 1,409 | 1,695 | — | 3,343 |
| April | 201 | 1,637 | 1,328 | 1 | 3,167 |
| May | 204 | 1,906 | 439 | 70 | 2,619 |
| June | 208 | 1,751 | 94 | 35 | 2,088 |
| July | 186 | 1,950 | 30 | — | 2,166 |
| August | 222 | 1,913 | 237 | — | 2,372 |
| September | 234 | 1,657 | 1,439 | 1 | 3,331 |
| October | 266 | 1,750 | 1,923 | — | 3,939 |
| November | 288 | 1,391 | 1,898 | — | 3,577 |
| December | 246 | 1,259 | 2,099 | — | 3,604 |
| 2,724 | 19,794 | 14,968 | 108 | 37,594 |
The number of whole carcasses condemned on account of disease or injury was
54 (44 pigs, 7 sheep and 3 cattle). In 2,330 instances partial condemnation was
necessary in respect of 1,965 pigs, 41 sheep and 324 cattle.
Slaughter of Animals Act, 1933.—This Act, which deals with the humane slaughter
of animals, came into force on the 1st January, 1934. It conferred new powers on
local authorities and imposed new duties upon them as well as upon persons carrying
on slaughterhouses and knackers' yards.
The subject matter of the Act is not, however, new to local authorities as there
is already a statutory duty to make by-laws for preventing cruelty in slaughterhouses.
In London, the London County Council had, by their by-laws, required the
use of mechanical stunning instruments for all animals (except in the case of animals
killed according to the Jewish method of slaughtering) and this is the central requirement
of the new Act.
The Act requires that animals in slaughterhouses and knackers' yards are to
be stunned before slaughter, and that the stunning shall be by a mechanically
operated instrument which is defined to include an electrical instrument. This does
not apply to sheep unless the local authority apply it by resolution, while goats