922 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



LEGISLATION. 



There are three distinct Orders of the Board of Agriculture dealing 

 with the protection of animals on board a ship. One is entitled the 

 Animals {Transit and General) Order, 1895, and deals solely with 

 animals carried on vessels between any two ports in Great Britain. 

 The other is the Foreign Animals Order of 1903, and applies to 

 vessels on which foreign animals intended to be landed at a Foreign 

 Animals Wharf are carried to a port in Great Britain ; the third 

 is the Exportation of Horses Order of 1898, which appHes to all 

 vessels, other than military transports, in or on which horses are 

 carried from any port in Great Britain to any port outside the British 

 islands. 



Besides these three main Orders, there are two others, viz., the 

 Channel Islands Animals Order of 1896, and the Isle of Man Animals 

 Order of 1896, regulating the traffic between those islands and Great 

 Britain. They are based, so far as the ship accommodation and 

 fittings are concerned, on The Animals {Transit and General) Order, 

 1895. 



These Orders are of considerable importance from a humanitarian 

 point of view, as there are more than half a million of both cattle and 

 sheep imported annually into Great Britain. 



The Animals {Transit and General) Order, 1895, deals only with 

 animals carried on vessels between any two ports in Great Britain. It 

 directs that no animals* are to be carried on a hatch above a compart- 

 ment where other animals are carried, nor shall they be carried on any 

 part of the vessel which would interfere with its navigation, ventilation, 

 or efficient working of the boats. 



The fittings on these vessels are to be pens ten feet by nine feet, 

 made of substantial material, and securely fastened to the deck. They 

 must be of sufficient strength to withstand weather and the weight of 

 the animals thrown against them. The floor of each pen shall be fitted 

 with suitable battens securely fastened to the deck to afford a foothold, 

 and strewn with sand or other suitable material. All cattle must be 

 securely tied by the head. Ship's fittings likely to cause injury to 

 animals must be properly fenced off, and animals must be protected 

 against undue exposure to weather. 



No passage way shall be less than one and a half feet in width. + 

 Proper gangways must be provided for sheep carried on deck. 



The ventilation must be sufficient and suitable, both for the admis- 



* The word ' animals ' means ruminants and swine only. 

 f This does not apply to vessels employed in the trade at the date 

 of the Order. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



