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Notice of Slaughtering.
Provision is made in the Regulations that notification of
casual slaughtering may be given orally, and this practice has at
times given rise to confusion which would doubtless have been
avoided had written notice been obligatory.
The Regulations also provide that notice of regular slaughtering
at fixed times and on fixed days may be given, but no
provision is made for the renewal of such notices; a provision
requiring the renewal of regular notices at intervals of not more
than twelve months would not be without advantage.
Public Abattoirs.
It is generally held that where a centralised system of
slaughtering is in force, a thorough and systematic code of
inspection is facilitated; experience gained in this area confirms
this view. The view is strengthened when it is remembered that,
where regular notice of slaughtering is given, there is no obligation
to retain the carcases and offal for inspection if the Inspectors
are not present at the actual time of slaughtering. Also, where
casual notice is given, it is not obligatory to keep the intestines,
stomachs and bladders of cattle and pigs, or the carcases and
offal of sheep for the usual three hours after slaughter. In Scotland,
where the legal position with regard to meat inspection is
stronger than in England, something over 80 per cent. of the
home-killed meat is slaughtered in Public Abattoirs.
Meat Marking.
Meat marking is not carried out in this Borough.
Letters of Warning and Prosecutions:
The attention of a number of butchers and slaughtermen was
drawn to several infringements of the Regulations and Bye-Laws,
and in certain cases letters of warning were sent, but in no case
was it considered necessary to institute legal proceedings.
The Sanitary Inspectors made 174 visits to the Slaughterhouses,
but it was not found necessary to serve any official notice,
no structural defects being found.
Constant supervision is given to stalls, vehicles or stands
from which meat is sold.
The conditions under which food is sold from such places is
improving, but there is still need for much further improvement.
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