ABOUT INSPECTION OF PORK.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 967, 7 November 1910, Page 4

ABOUT INSPECTION OF PORK.

I ;-'■-. Sir.-p-In The Dominion of October 17 :•;■■ you h&vo the monthly 'report'of tho ; . municipal abattoirs, Wellington. Tho j,. .gives as killed for the month:•• Bullocks avid heifers, 188; sheep. 1765' ■•■lambs,-: 129; calves, 13. Out of these were condemned by the inspector 18 : sheep, llamb, 1 calf., I would like- to" ..know, sir, ..being well acquainted with 'the butchering business in Wellington,-! 'where there is so much pork consumed i why no inspection of porkers appears, '•-... This would seem to mean that, nooffi- . cial supervision of this; article-of food takes place, and in no case is super- . vision'more necessary. With the ox- ;" 7 ception. of our Jewish friends andvege- !, tarians, there are.few tables, through-' ; - .out the Dominion on which it does not appear in some form, whether as a breakfast rasher or the savoury roast at dinner. Yet all the same tho pig is. liable to diseases which may be communicated to tho human consumer, more so than the other animals mentioned. In these I do not include the dreaded trychinee, from which tho Dominion is happily free. May it continue so, for this diabolical disease, a3 it was happily called by the Government Veterinarian in his lecture, is tho most awful ono that a human being can got. i But there are other diseases to which tho pigs are subject, and most notably among those is tuberculosis. In New Zealand any farmer or pig breeder can I; kill and bring into town killed pigs '.'. without having, been .inspected before sold to butchers .or private people. In ;■ ' Australia there is. rigid inspection, with ' ... the result that 5 per cent, of tho pigs killed are condemned. I have no hesi- . ' tation in saying that the average would ' bo reached and in some cases exceed- !. -. ed. "How is tuberculosis caught by V pigs?" The answer is not far to sock. In most cases, if.not all, through tuber- .' calosis '• in the separated or skimmed milk which is.fed. to the pigs. In Christchu'roh recently'tho,death-of a girl -took place—tuberculosis-poriton-Wa. I have carefully read tho report

'of. Mr. 0. J. Roakos, both as to tho death and as to tho rumour that 20 per cent 1 , of tho milk sold in Christchurch was from tuberculous cows. Thai .rumour J give no weight, for our Government inspectors of milk and dairies aro 100. far-seeing to allow a. state of affairs-of: that kind to exist. What is then the remedy? As I have been connected with tho meat trado sinco 1865 in America and Australasia, it may be reasonably assumed that I know what I am' talking about. I therefore make the following suggestions to meet tho evil: That all pork for consumption in the Dominion should pass rigid inspection.-,- I. see in ;the near future there will bo'a great'export trado in pork for.,the British Empire, and I know 'frdm experience that pork has to bo passed by inspectors previous to exportation. First, let the -Government amend tho Abattoir Act sp as to define a meat area ' for every abattoir, whether municipal or country. Lei; there bo rigid inspection of,pork. Finally, let it bo made compulsory for all meat, whether port or otherwise, to bo delivered in clean wrappers. —lam,etc., 1 R-! W.CURRY, Brine'and Meat Curing Expert', Gisr borne;