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Abattoirs
HEALTH
Equipped with mechanised dressing lines, the Kennedy Town Abattoir on Hong Kong Island and the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir in Kowloon supply the bulk of the population with fresh meat.
During the year, more than 3.2 million animals were slaughtered. The daily average was 8 139 pigs and 497 cattle.
Slaughtering services are provided in the New Territories by licensed private slaughter- houses at Tai Po and Yuen Long. A third private slaughterhouse, at Kwai Chung, is expected to come into operation at the end of 1982. A new government abattoir planned for Sheung Shui will serve the needs of the population in the new towns in the north-eastern parts of the New Territories.
Animals slaughtered in abattoirs and in private slaughterhouses are inspected by health inspectors of the Urban Services Department.
Cemeteries and Crematoria
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There are five public cemeteries, two public crematoria and seven private cemeteries in the New Territories and five public cemeteries, two public crematoria and 19 private cemeteries in the urban areas.
The Urban Council operates two funeral depots, one in Hong Kong and one in Kowloon, to provide free services for disposal of the dead. The Hung Hom Public Funeral Hall is also operated by the council to provide inexpensive but dignified funeral facilities to the public.
It is the policy of both the council and the Government to encourage cremation instead of burial. During the year, 57 per cent of the dead were cremated.
The new crematorium at Sha Tin is scheduled to be completed by the end of 1983. Together with the existing crematoria at Cape Collinson, Diamond Hill, Kwai Chung and Wo Hop Shek, it will provide an even distribution of cremation facilities throughout Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories.
New Territories Services Department
The responsibilities and functions of the New Territories Services Department are similar in the New Territories to those of the City Services Department in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.
Following a comprehensive review of the department's structure, the headquarters of the department was reorganised in 1980 to decentralise its functions, and improve the co-ordination of local services.
There are nine district urban services officers under two regional offices. Each of the regional offices is headed by an assistant director. The North Region comprises the Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tai Po and North District. The South Region comprises Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, Sha Tin, Sai Kung and Islands.
The department's activities have been expanded rapidly in the last three years to meet the needs of the increasing population in the New Territories. A total of 511 capital projects are being planned, including markets, pleasure and sports grounds, indoor games halls, swimming pools, beach buildings, public toilets, refuse collection points, vehicle depots, crematoria, and abattoirs. Fifteen such projects were completed during the year.