656 YETEEINARY HYGIENE 



find with existing public abattoirs is that, excepting in 

 Dublin, the arrangements for efficient inspection and light- 

 ing are defective. The principle to be observed in a public 

 abattoir is that the destruction of animals should take place 

 in one common large well-lighted hall, and not in a series 

 of separate chambers, as in this country, where the offal of 

 several animals get impossibly mixed, and the lighting is 

 so defective as to impair the value of inspection. 



As the case of public abattoirs in this country at 

 present stands, local authorities may under the Public 

 Health Act, 1875, provide public slaughter-houses but 

 cannot insist on their being used. How far the local 

 authorities have availed themselves of their powers, may 

 be judged by the fact that out of 1,083 towns in England, 

 only 84 public abattoirs exist, and many of these are but 

 little used, while London has six hundred private slaughter- 

 houses and not one public abattoir available for general 

 use.* 



There are certain conditions a public, or for that matter 

 any, slaughter-house should comply with. It is not an 

 institution which should be placed in the middle of a town, 

 and yet it must not be so far away as to cause extra expense 

 to those who use it. 



The general arrangement and details of the building 

 must depend upon the size of the town or city, but full 

 information on this and allied subjects may be obtained by 

 reference to the work above quoted. The general principles 

 involved are as follows : 



A separate drainage system is required for the killing- 

 rooms, so as to avoid blood, fat, and excreta finding its 

 way into the general sewerage system of the town. 



The abattoir buildings must provide lairage for all animals, 

 in order that rest before slaughter may be given them. The 

 meat of animals killed in a state of fatigue is inferior and 

 keeps badly. 



The actual killing-place should be a large, well-lighted, 



* ' Public Abattoirs and Cattle Markets ' : Dr. O. Schwarz. Trans- 

 lated by Messrs. Harrap and Douglas. 



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