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pigs reaches several thousands. To alleviate the conditions present in this abattoir, I have several suggestions to make. I repeat, Mr. Chairman, that they must not be construed to mean that a new slaughter house is unnecessary, rather that they must be regarded as only stop-gap measures to tide over a critical period. The useful space of the slaughter house could be considerably enlarged by covering the central courtyard and some open spaces at the end of the animal sheds with metal structures and asbestos sheeting. More lines and hooks should be installed to obviate the necessity of having animal carcases lying on the floor and to provide better facilities for the more sanitary inspection of meat. There must be more provision for dressing tables. What is most important, in my opinion, is that adequate mains water should be laid on for the operation of the abattoir. There are other points as well which I think can best be dealt with by the Slaughter House Select Committee. Without being unduly verbose I hope I have made clear to Members the necessity for these improvements to be carried out as soon as possible.
DR. A. M. S. BELL seconded.
She said: Mr. Chairman, having visited the Ma Tau Kok Slaughter House some three weeks ago during the height of the usual daily slaughtering session I strongly endorse every word which Dr. Lee has said in his description of the appalling conditions in existence at present and I give my full support to all his suggestions for improvements and to others which I know the staff of the Slaughter House themselves can suggest if invited to do so.
The day on which I visited the Slaughter House was hot and sunny; I drove my car into the courtyard as directed and with difficulty picked a route to a parking place next to some other cars, between carcases of slaughtered pigs which were lying amidst blood, viscera, excreta, etc. and which were in the process of being inspected and certified healthy or unhealthy and sorted accordingly. The carcases were lying baking in the sunshine sometimes for as much as two hours. As I stepped from my car wearing a pair of white shoes everybody rushed forward to try to find a pathway which would not mean ruination to my shoes. From this you can picture the state of the place; everyone else was wading around in gum boots.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Improvements are essential in what exists at present, (especially I would stress the suggestion of more hooks to hang up the carcases) but I cannot find justification in any more excuses for further delays in connexion with the building of the new abattoirs for Hong Kong and Kowloon. Surely over a million and a half meat-eating people in each place are sufficient justification for such buildings. The present Slaughter House at Ma Tau Kok was built and designed when the population of Kowloon was only about 300,000 to 400,000 persons. I remember reading in 1952 in the newspapers about a new abattoir about to be built. It is now 1957, five years later, and it is still about to be built. The future participle "about to be" should be present tense by now. Meantime, since it is an essential measure for the protection of public health, I give my full support in seconding Dr. Lee's motion before Council today.
MR. Y. K. KAN:-Mr. Chairman, I should like to express my personal agreement with the view which you have expressed in that Committee Paper that has been circulated to the Members on this subject. I have often wondered why questions are asked and motions moved at the meetings of this Council concerning matters which, in my opinion, could easily be raised at the appropriate Select Committees. It may well be, Sir, that questions and motions do have a certain publicity value. It seems to me that the subject matter of the present motion can and should be taken up by the Slaughter House Select Committee without a formal motion in the full Council, particularly as the mover of this motion is himself a member of that Select Committee. Sir, I do not consider this motion to be at all necessary and I propose therefore to abstain from voting. Dr. Lee has given us a very grim picture of the state of affairs and the condition in this Slaughter House, with which I have no quarrel whatsoever. What I should like to know is whether this matter has been considered by the appropriate Committee, and if not, why not. And should not this matter be taken up without a debate in this Council?
CHAIRMAN:-Both Ma Tau Kok Slaughterhouse and Kennedy Town Slaughterhouse have for long been regarded as quite inadequate in size and quite unsuitable in methods of operation for the large numbers of animals slaughtered daily since the war for Hong Kong's increased population. The unsatisfactory conditions resulting from this situation are fully appreciated by Government, and that is why a very heavy financial commitment
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