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53
houses published in 1955. From this it was concluded that central
planning of slaughterhouses was no longer advisable; instead, subject
to normal town planning requirements and to the premises reaching
prescribed standards, there should be a limited period during which
meat traders would be free to provide their own slaughterhouses of the
type and in the place that best suited their individual businesses. After
this period a measure of control would be re-imposed.
The Government proposes to prescribe statutory standards for
slaughterhouses and aim at these being reached as quickly as possible.
This should result in there being far fewer slaughterhouses than the
12,000 there were before the war, and probably fewer than the 4,375
(4,173 private and 202 public) in use today. The minimum statutory
requirements to be prescribed for the construction, layout and equipment
of slaughterhouses to secure humane treatment of animals, hygienic
conditions for the handling of meat and satisfactory welfare facilities for
the staff employed will apply to new buildings as soon as the new regulations
are made, but not to existing premises until dates to be appointed.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in April issued Model
Byelaws on the sanitary conditions and Management of Private and of
Public Slaughterhouses.
This altered policy will probably not affect this district as there
has been no suggestion of the establishment of a Government slaughterhouse
anywhere near here and it is not likely that if the proposal of
Yiewsley does materialise this will have any effect here.
Circular LSP. 1956/1 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
and Food indicated that it is the Government's intention that local
authorities shall continue to be responsible for the licensing of private
slaughterhouses and if appropriate for the provision of public slaughterhouses.
There has been a change in the arrangements for payments to be made
by local authorities as compensation to those whose slaughterhouses are
closed. There will be no Exchequer grant in respect of any slaughternouses
closed as a result of resolutions passed after the 9th May, 1956.
This is because such closure will now be governed solely by local considerations
whereas the procedure before contemplated that the numbers
and the siting of slaughterhouses would be subject to central
direction.
There are now four slaughterhouses in the district. At these 11,963
animals were slaughtered. Although this last slaughterhouse was
bought into use only towards the end of the year, the volume of killing
in this district last year was greater than that carried out in the eight
licensed slaughterhouses before the war.
All the 11,963 animals were inspected. The entire carcasses of six
off the 1,565 beasts of two of the 221 cows and 40 of the 6,053 pigs were
condemned. Cysticercosis Covis was found in 18 beasts (1.1%) and in
4 cows (1.8%).
Condemned meat is disposed of by burning in the destruction of the
Borough of Wembley. 23,266 lbs. of meat were condemned.