MUNICIPAL ABATTOIRS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14279, 30 July 1908, Page 9

MUNICIPAL ABATTOIRS

—: O INSPECTION IN OTHER CENTRES. It will be remembered that it was recently very plainly hinted to the Dunedin City Council by Air J. A. Gilruth, Government Veterinarian, that it would require to make Bomo very drastic alterations to the municipal abattoirs at liui-jisidc, ■ and the council accordingly took the matter up, but prior to doing anything definite towards effecting such structural alterations and improvements in the prevailing system, decided that Mr W. D. Snowball, its abattoir inspector, and Mr G. W. Gough, buildinjr inspector, should pay a visit of inspection to the abattoirs and meat works in Christchurch and Wellington. Accordingly these two officers, accompanied by Or T. Smith, left for the north last week, and, their , visit completed, they have returned Jo Dunedin. ,To 0110 of our reporters on Tuesday evening Ci Smith gave an outline of tho visit made, and what came under their observation. The first thing done when in Christeluirch was to pay a visit of inspection to tho public baths there. These baths, said Cr Smith, appeared to bo well'adapted for their purpose, but by no means as largely availed of as they should be. Before they were constructed tho Christchurch City Council received promises from over 300 persons that they would take out annual 'tickets, but it was surprising to learn that only 40 fulfilled that promise. The patronage, though at first good, was now very scant, and tho result w(is that the corporation was losing money annually on them. Mr (rough paid close attention to the construction of the baths, and tho information thus gained should prove of value whon tho public baths question comes up again in Dunediu. Tho next bit of municipal enterprise visited was the destructor, which showed itself to be a great garbage eater. Although it must necessarily be an expensive undertaking, it is from a sanitary point of view of very great importance to Christchurch, which docs not possess tho tips such as exist in Dunedin, Cr Smith expressed the opinion that if wc went in for baths in Dunedin, a destructor would bo a great help in healing the water, aaul a groat economise!'. But from tho poor patronage which .the-baths received in Ohristclvuvch, ho did not see any lmrry for their establishment in Dunedin, and he considered it would bo no great hardship if the citizens of Dunedin had to wait a little longer for them. Sockburn, tho site of the Christchurch City Abattoirs, was next visited. There they are somewhat ahead of our abattoirs, inasmuch as mutton and beef is all slaughtered and dressed under ono roof. Then they havo hoisting gear, which means a great saving of labour. The cattle are pithed just as at Burnside. The method of dispensing with tho manure is, however, a very primitive one, it being simply carted away and placed on the land it is intended for. This is anything but satisfactory. Hides, offal, etc., are contracted for, and that system is also vory unsatisfactory, and should not bo allowed in an up-to-date abattoirs. Tho Christchurch City Council claims tho greater part of tho offal, and those who own cattle and sheep are doprived of what they claim they have a just right to. Only a percentage of the feet, runners, livers, heartSj etc., arc given ba/ck to the butchers. The contract for the disposal of these things is lot to one man. Tho Dunedin butchers woidd not stand that sort of thing, and in so far as our abattoirs-aro concerned wo aro very much ahead of the Christchurch works. The quality of the meat hanging there at the . lime of the visit was not of such good average quality as that which is slaughtered locally. Tho slaughtering there is done by contract, lot by the City Corporation to i four contractors. But this system does not I work well, and does not tend to despatch in getting through tho work. Tho abattoirs are thus kept open much longer than | need be the, case. On the whole, Cr Smith i was not very greatly impressed with the Christchurch Municipal Abattoirs, and ho considered thero was plenty of room for improvements there. On reaching Wellington tho first place visited was the Wellington Moat Export Company's works at Ngahauranga, where tho modo of killing in operation met with much favour. While at Christchurch tho pithing system is adopted in killing cattle, at tho Ngahauranga works tho cattle aro first stunned, being struck with a hammer on the forehead. This was considered by Cr Smith lo bo a much moro lnimjuno method than pithing, because in tho lattor a good deal of injury is often inflicted, and tho animal not killed owing to the blow not being struck in tho right place. At the ' Wellington works the animal is first, placed in a tight fitting pon, and tho operator stands on a platform above, and strikes the animal with a heavy hammer. The animal drops to tlio ground, a door is opened mechanically, and almost at the same time tho floor on which , tho body is lying is ra.:scd at an angle, and the animal is . thrown out en to the floor of the slaughterhouse. It is then hoisted up, and bled while hanging. This process is carried out with such rapidity that six slaughtermen, can account- for as many as 170 bullocks in a day. In regard to the handling of offal and fat, the system is a splendid one. Tho manure can be thrown over a- drain at the works, and it is immediately washed away out to sea. Messrs Dimmock and C'o.'s ham and bacon works were also visited. Hero the methods in vogue aro very up to date, and some very advanced machinery is in daily use. As many as 700 pigs can bo killed in a day. Everything is done with a view to getting a maximum amount of work done at a minimum of expense. The Gear Meat Company's works at Potone were, also gone through. They are very extensive works. Hero the pithing system in killing is in vogue, but it was not found to bo as favourable as the method adopted at the Wellington Meat Company's works. No trouble whatever j is experienced in regard to the disposal | ; of manure and waste matter. One thine i that was most, noticeable was the humane manner in which cattle and sheep were treated prior lo slaughtering. T-hcv are placed under cover, and fed with hay and gtT-en food and water, and the results '■ully justify the' trouble and expense.

Thi.s, rays Cr Smith, is well worthy of imitation by the City Corporation of Dunel:n, instead of, as is dono, leaving tho cattle aim sheep out in the cold' and without food, thus allowing them to deteriot'ue'greatly in quality. The visits made ' to me different works proved of a very inMructivo and interesting character, and Ino information thus gathered should prove valuable to the Duncdin City Corporation i» its fuluro undertakings in connection the abattoirs. Cr Smith concluded by saying that when ho left Duncdin to visit the various slaughterhouses in tho north lie was under t-.ia impression that it would be against tho interests of the Duncdin butchers to allow the City Corporation to have a monopoly of their killing, and ho was afraid that instead of its being a benefit to the butchers it would act in an opposite direction, but, after seeing the .methods, by which killing was carried out in other centres, more particularly in connection With the Wellington works', he was strongly of the opinion that the Dunedin City Council should undertake the killing, employing its own men, and. under the able management of Mr Snowball, this system would give full satisfaction to all who'havo to kill at llio abattoirs.