SLAUGHTER-HOUSE REFORM FEEDING ' BY JOHN DODDS.
(Late Superintendent Carlisle Municipal Abattoir.) THE feeding and watering of animals which are not -I- for immediate slaughter is a subject which has not received the attention it deserves. Animals brought into the auction marts and public markets have frequently to stand from early morning till well into night before they reach the slaughter-house. Often they have travelled for miles, closely crowded in trucks, before they, arrive at . their destinations. . My experience is that rarely indeed . are they fed either during transportation or on the follow- ing day until nightfall. If the treatment they receive be . considered—how they are pushed about by buyers examining them, and how they are driven to the weighing machine and through the auction rings—it is quite obvious that they will be pitiably thirsty and hungry by the time they reach the slaughter-house. I know of one case where an animal that was-being driven through the street maddened by thirst, drank a bucket of liquid disinfectant which had, been left standing in the street, and although it .was immediately slaughtered, the disinfectant had so far penetrated the flesh that the whole carcass had to be destroyed.
Young calves receive very inconsiderate treatment. When only two or three days old they are hustled into the auctions and have to pass through the usual routine before being slaughtered, often " waiting from twenty-four to thirty-six hours before they are fed. Not infrequently, calves born during the night or early morning are rushed into the auction ring the very day they are born. Many of the pens are very cold, and the appearance of these poor creatures trembling and shrivelled speaks for itself Such treatment of young animals is barbarous. - An important point, however, must be considered in regard to the time allowed to animals for slaughter— namely, the contention of some butchers that fasting is necessary to produce good meat. In my early days it was quite customary to keep all animals three days without any food before killing. No respectable butcher would advocate such an unreasonable time now. Most abattoirs allow twenty-four hours, although in' reality twelve hours' starvation is ample. At home these animals have had constant feeding the whole day, and suddenly to subject them to a long fast must throw them into an abnormal condition and render their meat less wholesome than it need be.
I am not advocating that the feeding should be equal to that which they received at home, but it should be of a quantity and quality to kill the pangs of hunger. Large numbers of butchers will heartily corroborate all I have said, but—alas !—there are still some who cling to the longer fast which causes so much suffering. It is to these persons that we must teach a lesson in humanity. One of these butchers said to me : " Why cannot I do as I like with my animals ? " I replied : " The law would . _ not let me do just as I liked with my children, no more can you do what you like with your animals." But my greatest trouble as superintendent of an abattoir was always with the carelessness and negligence of attendants. The master would rely on his man ; the latter would blame his master ; and between them the poor creatures were half starved. In the early days of my superin- . this.. carelessness became so common that I got tired of giving warnings and had, although reluctantly, to resort to prosecution. ' In a short period I had eleven such cases in which fourteen men were implicated, and in every case I obtained a conviction.. Among those penalized were some of my personal friends, but as one of them said at the close of a case : " I admire you because you have been fair all round and not spared your friends." . Up to the time I left the Carlisle abattoir last April large numbers of butchers were most particular about feeding their cattle, but there still existed a negligent spirit among many ; and if this state of affairs can exist . ' in a strictly regulated abattoir what can we imagine are the conditions in private slaughter-houses under 'no regular control ? • One man who had grossly neglected an animal, when I spoke to him replied : " I did not bring it here to feed, • but to kill ! " I have avoided mentioning cases that have been reported to me, howsoever trustworthy were my informants, because I think that my personal expe- rience is sufficient to convince the reader that there is a strong argument for efficient control in abattoirs. Until the dawn of that-golden day when we shall feel that every animal must receive the same consideration that is meted out between man and man we must work by pen and voice. to raise up a public opinion that will demand • justice to every creature that a kind Creator has put into -the world :— -
" Let me to-night Look back across the span Twixt dawn and dark And to my conscience say, `Because of some good act To beast or man The world is better That I lived to-day."!
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