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45 1935

SLAUGHTER OF ANIMALS ACT, 1935

PART I.

Preliminary and General.

Short title and commencement.

1. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Slaughter of Animals Act, 1935.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister shall by order fix in that behalf, and the Minister may so fix different days for the coming into operation of this Act in the county borough of Dublin and the borough of Dún Laoghaire and in the remainder of Saorstát Eireann respectively.

Definitions.

2. —(1) In this Act—

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government and Public Health;

the word “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

the expression “sanitary authority” means the sanitary authority under the Public Health Acts, 1878 to 1931, for the area in respect of which the expression is used;

the expression “board of health” includes both a board of public health and a board of health and public assistance;

the word “animal” includes only cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, asses and mules.

(2) All buildings and other places used for the slaughter of animals either for sale or for conversion into products for sale (including buildings and other places commonly called “slaughter-houses” or “knackers' yards”) and no other places shall be slaughter-houses for the purposes and within the meaning of this Act and, subject to the provisions of the next following sub-section of this section, the word “slaughter-house” shall be construed accordingly in this Act.

(3) A building or other place situate on a farm shall not be a slaughter-house for the purposes or within the meaning of this Act merely by reason of the fact that such place is used for the occasional slaughter of animals kept on such farm, provided such slaughter is incidental to the proper management and working of such farm and the slaughter of animals is not the principal or only occupation of the occupier of such farm.

Area of application.

3. —This Act shall apply to and have effect in every county borough, borough, and urban district, and also to and in every, if any, county health district or particular portion of a county health district to which an order made by the Minister under this Part of this Act conferring on a board of health the power of regulating the slaughter of animals for the time being applies.

Application to county health districts.

4. —(1) The Minister may, if and whenever he thinks proper, by order confer on the board of health of a specified county health district power to regulate the slaughter of animals in such county health district or in a specified portion thereof.

(2) Whenever an order made by the Minister under the foregoing sub-section of this section is in force, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) sections 125 to 131 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act, 1847, shall apply and have effect in relation to the county health district or the specified portion of a county health district (as the case may be) to which the said order under this section applies, but with the following modifications, that is to say:—

(i) references in the said sections to commissioners shall be construed and have effect as references to the board of health of such county health district, and

(ii) references in the said sections to the limits of the special Act shall be construed and have effect as references to the said county health district or specified portion of a county health district (as the case may be), and

(iii) references in the said sections to the time of the passing of the special Act, shall, in the application of those sections to a town having commissioners under the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854, be construed and have effect as references to the date on which the said Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854, was adopted in such town, and shall, in the application of the said sections to an area in which there is in force an order under section 1 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1896, investing the rural sanitary authority in such area with the powers given to an urban sanitary authority by section 105 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, for the purposes of regulating slaughter-houses within their district, be construed and have effect as references to the date on which the said order under the said section 1 came into force in the said area, and shall, in every other case be construed and have effect as references to the date of the said order under this section;

(b) sections 29, 30, and 31 of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1890, shall, as from the date of the said order under this section, apply and have effect in relation to the county health district or the specified portion of a county health district (as the case may be) to which such order relates as if such county health district or portion of a county health district were an urban sanitary district and the board of health of such county health district were the urban authority for such urban sanitary district;

(c) the board of health of the county health district to which or to portion of which the said order under this section applies shall, in addition and without prejudice to the power to make bye-laws conferred by the said sections 125 to 131 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act, 1847, have power to make bye-laws in respect of the whole or any portion of the said area to which the said order under this section applies for securing the decent and seemly conveyance of meat through public thorough-fares, for the inspection of meat to be sold for human consumption, and for prohibiting the sale for human consumption of meat which has not been inspected in accordance with such bye-laws;

(d) sections 219 to 223 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, shall apply to every bye-law made by a board of health under this sub-section in like manner as they apply to bye-laws made under that Act;

(e) immediately upon the coming into operation of the said order under this section, the powers under the said sections 125 to 131 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act, 1847, (as incorporated or applied by the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854) then vested in the commissioners under the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854, of any town (having such commissioners) situate in the county health district or the specified portion of a county health district (as the case may be) to which the said order under this section applies shall terminate and cease to be exercisable by such commissioners;

(f) immediately upon the coming into operation of the said order under this section, any powers in relation to slaughter-houses then vested, by virtue of an order under section 1 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1896, in the board of health of the county health district to which or to a specified portion of which the said order under this section applies shall terminate and cease to be exercisable in respect of slaughter-houses within the area to which the said order under this section applies.

(3) The Minister may at any time by order amend any order previously made by him under this section, including an order made under this sub-section.

Enforcement of Act by sanitary authorities.

5. —(1) It shall be the duty of every sanitary authority of an area in which this Act has effect to exercise the powers vested in them by this Act and to carry out and enforce the provisions of this Act in such area.

(2) Whenever a sanitary authority fails or neglects to perform the duty or any portion of the duty imposed upon such authority by this section, the Minister may make such order in relation to such sanitary authority as he shall think necessary or proper for the purpose of compelling such sanitary authority to perform such duty.

(3) An order made by the Minister under this section, may, without prejudice to the exercise, in respect of the sanitary authority to which such order relates, of the powers conferred on the Minister by section 72 of the Local Government Act, 1925 (No. 5 of 1925), be enforced by proceedings in the nature of mandamus at the suit of the Minister.

Duties of veterinary officers.

6. —Every veterinary officer, appointed under section 11 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, as amended by Section 22 of the Local Government Act, 1925 (No. 5 of 1925), by a sanitary authority charged with the duty of carrying out and enforcing the provisions of this Act, shall perform in the functional area of such sanitary authority or in the portion of such area in which this Act has effect such duties in relation to the carrying out and enforcing the provisions of this Act as shall from time to time be assigned to him by the Minister or by such sanitary authority with the consent of the Minister.

Prosecution of offences.

7. —Every offence under any section of this Act may be prosecuted by or at the suit of the sanitary authority within whose functional area such offence was committed.

Expenses.

8. —(1) All expenses incurred by the Minister or the Minister for Agriculture in the execution of this Act shall, to such extent as shall be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) All expenses incurred by a sanitary authority in carrying out and enforcing the provisions of this Act shall be raised and defrayed in the manner in which expenses incurred by such sanitary authority under the Public Health Acts, 1878 to 1931, are raised and defrayed.

(3) Expenses incurred by a board of health in carrying out and enforcing the provisions of this Act shall, where this Act has effect in the whole of the county health district of such board of health, be charged equally over the whole of such district and, where this Act has effect in portion only of such county health district, be charged equally over the whole of such portion of such district.

Powers of Gárda Síochána and sanitary officers.

9. —(1) Any member of the Gárda Síochána may enter any slaughter-house situate in an area in which this Act has effect whenever any animal is being slaughtered or any carcase is being dressed therein or at any other reasonable time, and any officer (duly authorised in this behalf) of a sanitary authority in whose functional area or any part of whose functional area this Act has effect may at any such time as aforesaid enter any slaughter-house situate in such area or such part thereof (as the case may be) and such member or such officer may do in such slaughter-house all or any of the following things, that is to say:—

(a) inspect such slaughter-house and the plant, appliances, and equipment therein and all animals and carcases of animals in such slaughter house;

(b) observe all or any of the processes used in the business carried on in such slaughter-house;

(c) demand from the occupier or the person for the time being in charge of such slaughter-house the name and address of the person by whom any animal is about to be or is being or was slaughtered in such slaughter-house;

(d) demand of any person in such slaughter-house whether he does or does not hold a slaughter licence and, if such person states that he holds a slaughter licence, demand of him the production of such licence or, if such person states that he does not hold a slaughter licence demand of him his name and address.

(2) Whenever any officer (duly authorised in this behalf) of a sanitary authority in whose functional area or any part of whose functional area this Act has effect or any member of the Gárda Síochána suspects or believes that, at any time after the commencement of this Act in such area or such part thereof (as the case may be) an animal was slaughtered by a particular person in such area or such part thereof, such officer or member may at any time and in any place demand of such person whether he did or did not hold a slaughter licence at the time of the said slaughter of such animal and, if such person states that he did hold a slaughter licence at that time, demand of him the production of such licence or, if such person states that he did not hold a slaughter licence at that time, demand of him his name and address.

(3) Every person who obstructs or interferes with a member of the Gárda Síochána or an officer of a sanitary authority in the exercise of a power conferred on him by this section, or who fails or refuses to comply with a demand made to him under this section by any such member or officer, or who, in pretended compliance with any such demand, makes a statement which is to his knowledge false or misleading in a material respect, shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

(4) Whenever any person, on demand being made of him under this section by a member of the Gárda Síochána or by an officer of a sanitary authority, refuses or fails to state whether he does or does not hold a slaughter licence at the time of the making of such demand or refuses or fails to produce a slaughter licence which he states to be then held by him, such refusal or failure (as the case may be) shall be evidence until the contrary is proved, that such person did not hold a slaughter licence at the time when such demand was so made of him.

(5) Whenever any person, on demand being made of him under this section by a member of the Gárda Síochána or by an officer of a sanitary authority, refuses or fails to state whether he did or did not hold a slaughter licence at a time specified by such member or officer in such demand or refuses or fails to produce a slaughter licence which such person states he held at the said time so specified, such refusal or failure (as the case may be) shall be evidence, until the contrary is proved, that such person did not hold a slaughter licence at the said time so specified.

(6) For the purposes of this section a person shall not be deemed to comply with a demand made under this section for production of a slaughter licence unless he allows the member of the Gárda Síochána or the officer of a sanitary authority making such demand to read, inspect, and examine such licence for a reasonable time.

Amendment of section 128 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act, 1847.

10. —Section 128 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act, 1847, shall be and is hereby amended by the deletion therefrom of the words “the sum of ten shillings” and the insertion therein of the words “the sum of two pounds” in lieu of the words so deleted, and the said section shall be construed and have effect accordingly for all purposes, including the purposes of any Act or order wherewith or whereby the said section has been or shall be incorporated or applied.

Public Inquiries.

11. —(1) Where any power is conferred on the Minister by this Act the Minister may, if he so thinks fit, before exercising such power on any particular occasion hold a public inquiry into the matters which would be the subject of such exercise of such power.

(2) Article 32 of the Schedule to the Local Government (Application of Enactments) Order, 1898, shall apply in respect of every public inquiry held under this section in like manner as the said Article applies in respect of the local inquiries mentioned therein.