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4.
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MR. SALES :----I wish to add a supplementary question to No. Can you, Sir, give any indication as to how soon those playground facilities I referred to in that question would be given up again for civilian use?
CHAIRMAN :-No, Sir, I am afraid I cannot.
MR. SALES :-May I put a second supplementary question to that one? Are you not of the opinion, Sir, that there is a serious shortage of playing fields in Tsimshatsui which are available for civilian use?
CHAIRMAN :-I am afraid I must have notice of that question. Mr. Sales. I don't think it is a supplementary question of fact arising out of the reply which I have already given.
MR. SALES :-Excuse me, Sir. Perhaps I asked that supplementary question under No. 4 when, if I had put it under No. 3, your reply might have been different.
CHAIRMAN:- -As to that, Sir, I have already said in my reply that when these development plans are under discussion, very careful consideration is given to providing adequate open spaces and playgrounds.
MR. SALES :-Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MOTIONS.
DR. R. H. S. LEE moved :-
"That in view of the anticipated delay before a new abattoir is constructed, and as a matter of great public health importance, the Slaughter Houses Select Committee should consider practical measures to improve the present unsatisfactory and insanitary conditions in the handling of meat carcases in the present Ma Tau Kok Slaughter House.”
He said: From the number of absences I see around the table I fully realize that the subject of an abattoir is not a very exciting subject, but I have no apologies to make on that score, because we do not have to have an interest in the subject put before the Council before exercising our duty.
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When we consider the important health role which a slaughter house assumes in a community, it becomes doubly more important when it is applied to a place like Hong Kong. The fact that more than 90% of the population prefer their meat in the fresh state renders the argument even stronger when all livestock imported for urban consumption must pass through one of the two Government slaughter houses before it reaches the trade. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, great care and supervision must always be paid to its operation because the likely widespread effect it can have on the health of the consumers is indeed a real one. Since it will take years before the slaughter house in Ma Tau Kok is likely to be replaced it is important, therefore, that some immediate improvements must be carried out so that it could cope with the ever-growing volume of work which it was never designed to undertake. Whilst I press strongly for these improvements to be implemented, Mr. Chairman, I want to make clear that its acceptance must not be taken to mean that I favour more delays to be taken in respect to the new abattoirs. On the contrary, Sir, I feel very strongly that the two Government slaughter houses have long passed their original usefulness, and that it is a matter for regret that a firm decision on this important question has not yet been finalized.
Mr. Chairman, I was indeed shocked by the things that I saw in the Ma Tau Kok Slaughter House. There was indeed no adequate or proper water supply. Due to the crampness of space, some animals were seen outside the pens, meat carcases were laid on the ground in the open sun, animal viscera were dressed in the open courtyard, and meat inspection also took place in this same unsatisfactory and insanitary condition. The whole place was littered with blood, excreta and offals. I hate to think what it is like on rainy days. Whilst I can't understand why this state of affairs should have been allowed to exist, I honestly feel that the Council could ill-afford to adopt a negative attitude in this matter, because the Council has not only a public duty to perform, but it has also to be consistent in the discharge of that duty. When we impose rigid conditions and requirements and regulations for markets and meat shops, why should we feel differently for a slaughter house?
To give Members some conception of the problem on hand, I wish to point out that over 1,000 pigs and some 120 heads of cattle are slaughtered every day. On festival days the number for
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