Nuisances from the Keeping of Animals.—The 47th section of the Public Heath Act prohibits the keeping of pigs in towns so as to be a nuisance, and, as a general rule, it is possible to obtain a magistrate’s order, entirely prohibiting the keeping of pigs in towns. The excreta of the pig have a very offensive and penetrating odour, and however carefully kept, pigs in towns form an intolerable nuisance.
Not only is there nuisance from the accumulation of manure and dirtiness of the piggeries, but also from the storage and subsequent preparation of food. The boiling of hog-wash is often an even greater nuisance than the filth of the styes.
Cow-keeping and horse-keeping in towns are still allowed and, as compared with pig-keeping, form a small nuisance. Mews, if kept clean and well drained, need not be offensive, though it is objectionable for persons to sleep over stables. The removal of manure also constitutes a difficulty. The manure should not be allowed to accumulate in deep wet pits, but in an iron cage-work over a cement paving at or above the ground-level, thus allowing free drainage, and keeping the manure dry, and reducing ammoniacal decomposition to a minimum.
Cowsheds are generally very badly ventilated, as the cowkeeper finds that more milk is produced by the cows when the temperature of the shed is maintained at 65° or higher; and he does not see the necessity for providing artificial means of warmth. The grains which are used so largely for food are stored in a wet condition, and speedily give rise to nuisance. Cowsheds and stables should be well paved and well drained. At least 800 cubic feet should be allowed for each cow in the shed.
Cowsheds are regulated under the Dairies’, Cowsheds’, and Milkshops’ Order of the Local Government Board. This order provides for and insists on the registration of cowkeepers, dairymen, and purveyors of milk, by the local authority. It also provides that no cowshed or dairy shall be occupied as such, unless provision is made to the satisfaction of the local authority, for the lighting and ventilation, including air-space, and the cleansing, drainage, and water-supply of the same; and for the protection of the milk against infection or contamination. With the view of preventing contamination of milk, no person suffering from an infectious disorder, or having recently been in contact with a person so suffering, is allowed to milk cows or take any part in any stage of the business of a milk-seller. The milk of a cow suffering from cattle plague, pleuro-pneumonia, or foot and mouth disease must not be mixed with other milk, must not be sold or used for human food, nor for food for swine or other animals, unless it has been boiled. By the order of 1899 this regulation is made to extend to tubercular disease of the udder.
Slaughtering of Animals.—Nuisance may arise in slaughter-houses from various causes:—(1) the uncleanly way in which animals are kept in the pound or lair before being killed; (2) the insanitary condition, bad paving, lack of lime-whiting of walls, etc., of the slaughter-house; (3) the accumulation of hides, blood, fat, offal, dung, or garbage on the premises; (4) the uncleanly condition of the blood-pits, or the receptacles for garbage; (5) the flowing of blood or offal into the drains and thence into the public sewer.
Private slaughter-houses ought to be abolished, and all animals intended for human food slaughtered in public abattoirs under efficient supervision. When a large number of private slaughter-houses exist in different parts of a large town, it is impossible for the sanitary officials to properly supervise the slaughtering, or to ensure that diseased meat shall not enter the market. The inspector may only have the opportunity of examining the flesh, the internal organs which more particularly show the presence of a diseased condition having been concealed. Such concealment and the consequent foisting of diseased meat upon the public, can only be efficiently prevented by forbidding the slaughtering of any animal intended for food in a private slaughter-house.
Most local authorities have bye-laws regulating the slaughtering of animals. These provide for a cleanly condition of the lairs, and prevent keeping the animals longer in the lairs than is necessary for the purpose of preparation for slaughtering. They also insist on the provision of proper covered receptacles of iron or other non-absorbent material for the reception of garbage, and similar receptacles for blood; for cleansing of the floor, etc. after slaughtering; for lime-whiting of the walls four times a year; and for other matters of detail.
For knackers’ yards similar regulations are applicable. The flesh should not be kept until it becomes putrid before being boiled, and the boiling of the flesh and fat should be so arranged as to avoid the escape of offensive vapours into the external air.
In smoking bacon, the singeing has formed a serious nuisance. Fish-frying in small shops is often a most troublesome nuisance. A hopper over the pan in which the frying is conducted has not been always successful in carrying the fumes up the chimney. The frying should preferably be done in a closed outhouse, close to a chimney with a good up-draught.