The Slaughter of Animals (Scotland) Bill T HE Slaughter of Animals
(Scotland) Bill, which will, it is hoped, soon pass as an agreed measure, marks a definite advance in British civilization. The Bill provides for the licensing of slaughtermen and for the • use of modern humane instruments for stunning animals prior to slaughter, and it will bring Scottish practice more nearly into line than it is at present with that prevailing in. Holland, Germany, Sweden and other advanced Continental countries. England will be even further behind Scotland in these Matters than she is already.
Unfortunately, during the Committee debate, certain very material concessions had to be made to the opponents of the Bill-: the operation of the latter will now be confined to slaughterhouses and knackers' yards, and pigs will be exempted from its purview. The usual exemption for Jewish slaughterers was also introduced, though this concession will be less regretted than the others provided that the Board of Shechita presses forward' with vigour and determination the adoption of humane casting machines.
It is too late, however, to criticize these amendments : the Bill represents a compromise which its promoters and opponents have both agreed to accept, and the- observance of the compact is as binding on one side as on the other. Any attempt to alter the Bill at the present stage would involve a breach of faith, and cannot be contemplated. The present article will, therefore, be confined to a few comments on the subject-matter which has actually been included in the Bill. Of all butchery animals, probably sheep and lambs suffer most in the old-fashioned methods of slaughter, for they are often handed over to the younger and less experienced slaughtermen on account of their comparative docility, and as a rule no attempt is made to stun them. The commonest practice is to lay the sheep or lamb on a crutch or trestle, and to pass a knife through its throat from side to side. The slaughterman then breaks the animal's neck, and, inserting his knife or finger into the wound, severs the spinal cord, thereby disconnecting the brain from the nervous system. The whole operation is performed very expeditiously by the best slaughtermen, but in the hands of mediocre men it is a cruel process.
The officers of the City of London Corporation who reported on this matter in 1925 stated that " the argument advanced in favour of not stunning sheep is that of business expediency. It is asserted, and probably correctly, that more sheep can be dressed in a given time without preliminary stunning." Two of them reported against and one in favour of the compulsory stunning of sheep, but a calculation shows that the increased cost of production due to preliminary stunning would amount at most to about twopence a sheep, and we note with pleasure that the Scottish butchers have assented to the inclusion of sheep in the Bill.
In this country cattle arc usually stunned with a poll- axe, and an effective blow with this instrument is identical in its effect with a blow from a captive-bolt pistol or " humane killer " : in each case a bolt is driven into the upper brain, producing instant unconsciousness but leaving the medulla untouched so that effective bleeding is still practicable. The objection to the poll-axe is that mis- hitS are far more frequent with it than with the pistol. There are butchers who claim, probably without exaggeration, that they have never mishit an animal with a poll-axe in their lives, but the average performance reaches a standard very much inferior to this. The City of London officers, whose report can be seen at the Guildhall, found that the number of blows required to stun 100 animals with the poll-axe was 250 in the case of bulls, 155 in the case of swine, and 125 in the case of bows and oxen, whereas the captive-bolt pistol could be made praetically infallible.
Allegations have been made that the use of humane killers impairs the meat by preventing it from being adequately bled. This has been quite disproved by the City of London report. The officers who made this report examined 1,445 shot animals, and they reported as follows : " We desire to state emphatically that no exception can be taken to the efficiency of the bleeding. The meat was sold in Smithfield Market, and no complaints were made or received." The Ministry of Health recommends, for adoption by local authorities; a model by-law (9n) enforcing the use of " mechanically operated instruments," and in the teeth of such over- whelming expert opinion the allegation that humane killing injures the meat must be regarded as an untenable superstition—provided always that the carcases, whether shot or poll-axed, be bled promptly after stunning.
The opposition to the introduction of modern methods of slaughter comes entirely from a certain section of the meat-traders. To suggest that this conservatism is shared by all butchers would be to cast an undeserved aspersion on a body of men which includes many enlightened and progressive citizens. The progress which has been made with the Scottish Bill is attributable in no small measure to the influence of such men as Bailie Breehin, who is perhaps the greatest of the Scottish meat-traders ; and amongst slaughtermen as well as master-butchers there are many who have adopted a humane and fair- minded attitude. Thus, the City of London report, after mentioning that the slaughtermen at the abattoirs had been given an opportunity to, use the pistol, adds : " They have done so willingly, and have expressed satisfaction with the results obtained."
Some of their fellow-tradesmen are less accessible to new ideas, however, and amongst the causes of the opposition which has been offered to the new methods must be reckoned the following : (1) Some slaughtermen take the extraordinary view that the introduction of the pistol constitutes a reflection on their personal skill, as if a soldier were to say, " It is an insult to arm me with a rifle : you are casting aspersions on my proficiency in the use of the bow and arrow." (2) When carcases are not bled promptly after stunning, bad bleeding results whether pistol or poll-axe has been used. Thus, at the Birmingham demonstration in 1923 the following intervals were allowed to elapse between shooting and bleeding in the case of the bullocks (Nos. 1 to 5) which were stunned by the humane killer : 115, 102, 182, 104, and 70 seconds. In the case of the two bullocks (Nos. 8 and 9) stunned with the poll-axe the intervals between striking and bleeding were 66 and 44 seconds respectively. The unfairness of the test as regards the effect on the meat is obvious from these figures, but there is still a certain number of butchers who attach more weight to the results of this little propaganda demonstration than to the 1,445 observations made by the City of London officers. (8) During the War, when armourers were working under difficulties, a number of defective humane killers were sold and these have damaged the reputation of the instruments. (4) When cartridges of the wrong strength are used in the bullet-firing type of pistol there is a possibility that the bullet will leave the animal's head. Certain accidents have occurred in this way, and although the number of such accidents is negligibly small, they -have created a panic from which even the captive-bolt pistol has suffered, although no accident can happen with this type of instrument. (5) The captive-bolt instruments need to be oiled after every twenty or thirty rounds, and to be kept in good condition like other firearms. It has been suggested that slaughter- men cannot reasonably be asked to undertake the responsibility of oiling and cleaning the pistols, but such a suggestion casts a serious aspersion on the intelligence of those who are employed in slaughtering. Only men of the best type ought to be employed for this important work, and such men will take a pride in keeping their weapons in proper working condition.
In conclusion, reference must be made to an appeal which was recently addressed to butchers by Professor Hobday, Principal of the Royal Veterinary College, when presiding at a debate arranged by the University of London Animal Welfare Society, of which he is President. He suggested that the Meat Traders' Association should not adopt a merely negative or obstructive attitude, but should " co-operate with the veterinary profession and with the humane Societies in solving the problems connected with the promotion of humane slaughtering." That was wise advice and wisely given. When it has been carried into effect the public will regard the butcher, not as a brutalized reactionary, but as an enlightened citizen who relieves his fellows of some difficult but necessary duties.
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