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their extermination services, the Council authorised the Public Health
Inspectors to supervise this work. Arrangements were made for destruction
of the foxes to be carried out by a specialist contractor. During
the year it was necessary to employ his services on three occasions and
ten foxes were destroyed. There is no doubt that this service is
appreciated by householders.
Pet Animals Act, 1951.
Fourteen licences to keep Pet Shops were issued during 1972.
Fifty-three visits were made to these premises to ensure compliance
with the conditions attached to these licences.
The Riding Establishments Acts, 1964-1970.
Two full licences for one year were issued after inspection of the
premises by the Inspectors, and by the Council's Veterinary Officers
(Gates and Serth, Members R.C.V.S., 102 Brighton Road, Purley).
One establishment at Mitcham ceased to operate after its licence had
expired.
Diseases oj Animals Act, 1950.
No outbreaks of disease occurred within the Borough during
1972.
Clean Air Act, 1956/1968.
During 1972, 169 complaints were received of smoke or grit
emissions and the necessary observations were made and remedial
action taken.
Ten notices of proposals to instal a furnace, to which Section 3
(1) of the Act applied, were received and the installations were inspected
and recorded.
Section 6 of the Clean Air Act, 1968, authorises the local authority
to approve or disapprove an application in respect of the height of a
chimney without reference to the Building Regulations. I was authorised
by the Council to act in accordance with the new provisions,
and of ten applications received during the year, all were approved
after alterations in two cases.
Legal Proceedings.
Proceedings under Section 1 of the Clean Air Act, 1968, were
taken against a firm of demolition contractors for burning rubber tyres
on site from which was emitted dark smoke. The defendants pleaded
guilty and were fined £20 with £7 costs.
Measurement oj Atmospheric Pollution.
Eight 8-port instruments are maintained by the Health Department,
and these are sited in approved positions within the Borough.
These instruments, which record smoke density and sulphur-dioxide
contained in the atmosphere are visited weekly. Recordings are standardised,
and results are sent monthly to the Department of Trade
and Industry, Warren Spring Laboratory. It is clear that since the
Clean Air Act became law in 1956 there has been a steady reduction
in emissions into the air, but there is still an urgent need for a more
vigorous application of the Clean Air Acts in some areas of Great
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