HC Deb 24 February 1908 vol 184 cc1368-9
Mr. CATHCART WASON

I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland if he can state how many cattle sold by public-auction or privately in Glasgow have been, after slaughter, condemned as being unfit for food; how many on an average have been condemned as being unfit for food before slaughter; and if the inspectors have sufficient technical knowledge to enable them to condemn at any rate some percentage of animals dying of tuberculosis before they are purchased for food.

MR. SINCLAIR

It is impossible to obtain all the information asked for by the hon. Member. As regards the first part of his Question, I am informed that in 1906 the figures of the animals

Class of animal. Number slaughtered. Number condemned (wholly or partly) for all causes, including tuberculosis. Number condemned (wholly or partly) for tuberculosis.
Cattle 43,895 2,967 2,194
Sheep and Lambs 254,635 421 1
Pigs 45,456 2,258* 2,141*
Calves 4,087 57 19
* Include 2,034 heads.

No animals were condemned in 1906 before slaughter under Section 437 of the Public Health Act. As regards the last part of the hon. Member's Question, the medical inspector of the Local Government Board for Scotland reports as follows:—"The inspection of all animals slaughtered in the city, both home and foreign, is a searching one. I know of no place in Scotland where the detailed examination of all carcases is equally thorough."