8 Oct., 1907.] Export Trade in Lambs. 631 



CONDITIONS SURROUNDING THE EXPORT TRADE IN 



LAMBS. 



A. A. Broivn, M.B., B.S., Inspector of Foods. 



Lambs killed in Victoria for export are procured from widely scattered 

 and distant sources. Many cume from the Riverina, the Wimmera and 

 the Mallee, and also from Gippsland and the Northern and Western 

 Districts. The slaughtering of lambs tor export is conducted at Casterton, 

 Geelong, Hamilton, and Portland, and in the Metropolitan area. AH 

 these places are remote from the source of origin of the lamb, and the 

 situation of the slaughtering establishments has much to do with depreciating 

 the value of the lamb for export. Perhaps very few shippers appreciate 

 the significance of the fact that much damage is done tO' the lamb by 

 the long journey it has to^ make to reach its destinatio«. In tracing the 

 movements of lambs from the pastures to- the abattoirs we see much that 

 causes the lambs tO' fall aw'ay greatly in condition. In the first place 

 they are travelled on foot, distances more or less great, to reach the 

 railway trucks. They are then transported over a long stretch of railway, 

 generally under a burning sun, to the abattoirs, and two or three or 

 even more days may elapse before the\' reach their destination. Young 

 lambs suffer more seriously than older animals by the long journeying. 

 Lambs taken from the pastures and travelled far fret very much, become 

 depressed in health, lose weight, and part with their bloom. Lambs after 

 such treatment, on being slaughtered, do not present so bright an appear- 

 ance as those killed within a few hours after removal from the pastures. 

 In New Zealand there is quick transport from the pastures tO' the abattoirs, 

 and, therefore, in that co-untry, lambs and sheep are killed before there 

 is anv appreciable loss of weight, and befoTe the bloom has passed off 

 them. 



Fodder Crops. 



Another cau.se operating tO' produce superior lambs in New Zealand, 

 to those generally raised in Ausralia, is the attention that is paid to 

 the raising of special fodder crops, and to the proper feeding of sheep 

 for export. From the time the lamb is born until it reaches the slaughter- 

 house, it should receive no check to its development. The lamb must 

 thrive from birth and becon^e' prime in the shortest possible time, and this 

 is achieved by supplying abundance of food. In New Zealand, as soon 

 as the lambs beconie prime, they are sent off in little lots to the freezing 

 works, and nO' chance is allowed of their receiving a set back. In Australia 

 as a rule, the sending away of lambs in little lots, is, as yet, beyond the 

 Ijounds of practicability, since the abattoirs are so far away from the 

 farms on which the lambs are raised. In Victoria, however, I feel con- 

 vinced that in many districts it is quite practicable to send lambs awav 

 in little lots to' the abattoirs as soon as they become prime. By following 

 out this practice there is noi chance of the lambs receiving a set back. It 

 should be remem.bered that when a set back is received it takes the lambs 

 a long time to recover their former condition. 



Well fed mothers produce prime lambte with a beautiful bloom. The 

 bloom cannot be got on the lambs if the mothers are scantily fed. There 

 is no question that if more attention was paid by graziers to the growing 

 of sj>ecial fodder crops, lambs superior to those produced in any other 

 country in the w^orld could be placed on the London markets bv 



