MEAT INSPECTION

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 143, 14 March 1938, Page 11

MEAT INSPECTION

Reconstruction Of Law

STOCK SLAUGHTERING Freezing Works And Butchers x " ■ A complete reconstruction of the existing legislation bearing on stock slaughtering and meat inspection is aimed at in the Slaughter of Stock and Inspection of Meat Bill, which was introduced in the House of Representatives by Governor-Gener-al’s message. The Bill deals with the establishment of municipal abattoirs, the licensing of meat export and other slaughterhouses and the slaughter, inspection and export of meat. Alterations in the existing laws are summarised in an explanatory memorandum to the Bill.- It is stated that under the existing laws boroughs or town districts with populations of 2000 or more are under a statutory obligation to establish abattoirs. It is now proposed to extend the population limit to 3000, but local authorities with smaller populations are empowered, although not obliged, to establish abattoirs if they see lit. Power is alsogiven for the establishment of subsidiary undertakings such as boilingdown works in connection with abattoirs. Provisions relating to the charges to be paid to the controlling authority of an abattoir in respect of stock slaughtered and meat sold in the district have been rewritten with a view to o clarifying the existing law. This has also been done with the provisions relating to refunds from surplus revenues and in both cases the terms of the Auckland City Abattoir Act, 1936, have been taken as a general guide. Boundaries of Districts. More elastic provision is made with respect to the definition of the boundaries of abattoir districts. This has been done to permit of the inclusion of the whole or of defined parts of the districts of local authorities other than that of the controlling authority. Boundary alterations may also be made from time to time. There is a far-reaching clause designed to ensure that meat shall not be sold for consumption in abattoir districts without proper inspection. The provision is that no meat is to.be sold for consumption in an abattoir district unless it has been derived from stock which has been slaughtered in an abattoir or in a meat export slaughterhouse. The practice of certain meat export slaughterhouses in operating shops for the retail sale of meat to the general public is to be restricted. There have been frequent complaints by the master butchers regarding what they consider unfair competition in this direction and a clause in the Bill prohibits the sale of meat on the premises of a slaughterhouse except to employees or farmer clients. In explaining the Bill, the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. W. Lee Martin, said there was nothing to prevent, the establishment of retail shops by freezing companies away from the slaughterhouses. Licence to Export. Under the present law, a licence for a meat export slaughterhouse cannot be granted unless 25 per cent, of the output is intended for export. It is now proposed to relax this restriction in the case of a slaughterhouse used for the slaughter of pigs only. In such a case a licence can be granted if any portion of the output is Intended for export. Meat intended for human consumption may be slaughtered only in an abattoir, a meat export slaughterhouse, or a rural slaughterhouse. In this connection the right of a farmer to slaughter stock for sale for human consumption is restricted to cases where the farm is more than six miles from any abattoir district or from any borough or town district. This restriction will apply to pigs as well as to other kinds of stock.

Various miscellaneous clauses are included. One gives the Minister of Agriculture power to order investigations

to ensure that licensees under the Bill are complying with the terms of their licences. There is another clause designed to prevent undue suffering by stock, and regulations can be made prohibiting inhumane methods of slaughter. The bobby-calf trade may also be brought within the scope of these regulations and, with the object of cheeking the spread of hydatids, the feeding to dogs of raw or diseased offal or of diseased meat may be prohibited. A new clause gives statutory recognition to a scheme whereby a proportion of the fees charged for the inspection of pigs and pig meat may be devoted to the furtherance of the pig industry. A reply that it was not intended to proceed with the Bill this session was given by the Minister of Agriculture to a question asked by the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. A, Hamilton. The said that, although only 14 out of the 73 clauses were new or made material alterations to the original requirements, the Bill was an important one, and it was desirable that evidence should be taken from interested parties and organisations before it was finally submitted, some time next session, for Parliament's approval. The Bill wa6 read a first time.