INSPECTION OF SWINE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9174, 25 August 1908, Page 4

INSPECTION OF SWINE.

A deputation of persons interested in the bacon curing industry waited on the Minister of Agriculture at Wellington yesterday morning, and urged that greater facilities were wanted lor the inspection of pig-* killed for human consumption outside of slaughter houses. It was stated that of the 100,000 pigs killed last year, nearly 9 per cent, were found to be afEected. The officers of the Stock Department found that 7.53 per cent, of the pigs in the country were affected with tuberculosis. The companies lost about £I,OOO per year, because they rightly killed pigs under a thorough system of inspection, and they considered it unfair that others should be allowed to carry on without any inspection whatever. The deputation suggested it should be an offence to expose bacon for sale, either in New Zealand or abroad, which had not been killed under Government supervision. The Minister, in reply, said that it had been proved that the percentage of disease amongst pigs was much greater in districts where dairying wa3 carried on, and where pigs were fed on the bye-products of factories. This was one of the reasons which had decided the Government to make a thorough inspection of dairies. He would introduce a BiJ.l this session to make the inspection of all pigs killed at slaughtering establishments obligatory. He thought that eventually the- slaughtering of pigs on farms would have to be prohibited.