A SLAUGHTERING GRIEVANCE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1441, 16 May 1912, Page 8

A SLAUGHTERING GRIEVANCE.

dirty sheep. : "thetaeiieii and the:fedeka- . TION. "I would,like to ventilate a grievance which tile slaughtermen of New Zealand farmer.-," said Mr. M. % - Kcardoii. i-ecrotary ot .tltp Slaugnter■liieii's, federation, yesterday. "For very niaiiv "years.- pait," said Air. Ueardon, "thc'slaufthieriHeii 'havo ■boon tryhiß to pcrsiuule the faymers of the Dominion- to •send clean ,slie9i).<to the works, for kili-iiHK'-'fnit'.-of, -litle:'J''.have been •'; rc.cpivin.? bomplaiiits in this c'oiviieo'lion from f|Uito a.'.riiuiibtT'-Of'm'eat works tliioufrhadt.' New Zealnnd. The Rroniul of complaint is that the sheep arc font forward without, first :l)eins 'daßSed. It may be thought that tlie flaughtiTiiien have a purely selfish niolivo in the agitation, but expert opinion Ro;s to show that the fanners would ■be .consulting the best interests of the ■ export trade if they gnve heed to the 'representations of the men. J-t 1010 the 'Slaughtermen's Federation wrote to the New Zealand Farmers' Union on this question, and while the Chief Government Veterinarian was inclined to discount the importance of , the question raised, Jlr. M'Queen, managing director of the Southland -Meat Company, strongly supported the iSiisgestion made by the . men. He said that no amount of washing -would make the' carcasses look. as well as if it hail not been necessary to wash the tiesn at all. "The effect of the men being compelled to kill 'daggy' sheep was that no matter what care was taken, the carcass was marked and the butchers then required b,wash the flesh, 'which process had a feihlency. 16"'spoil the appearance of'the carcass,- and in any ca-o the mutton •ould riot possibly. look as well as it would had it only been necessary to rub it over with a wet cloth. Again, when thy {laggings Rot dry, tlm flesh on the hindquarters got bruised." ' • A protest had been made to the companies in the above connection, but while they were- in the fullest sympathy with the 'men, they were not in a pn.-i----tion to dictate to their clients. Ihe companies agrca that the carca>s docs not look nearly as .well after the pro'r'ess of Tvashiuif. but. tlviy invariably surest that the fault is not theirs. The blame, continued Mr. Krardon. lies with the farmers, who send the stock forward in a condition that they would not send it to the shearing sheds. The Canterbury branch fof tltn federation addressed a letter to the Farmers' Union there, and the union in turn circularised its members, with the result that considerable improvement was effected. Men employed ai. Messrs. Nelson Bros.'a works in Huwkc's Bay had addressed a communication to the Hawke's Bay Farmers' Union this season, and ' the union had agreed that the representations made by the slaughtermen were fair and reasonable, and had decided fri urge iinon the farmers the advantage of havin's; sheep dagged before, sending them forward to the works. There are quite a number of sheds, however, that foe! very keenly on this matter, and it is quit© possible that they will insist on higher payment for work of the kind mentioned, in the liODe that this will act. as a check on the forwarding of dirty stock. . '