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10 1930

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE (FRESH MEAT) ACT, 1930

Part III.

Veterinary Examination and Certification of Fresh Meat.

Appointment of veterinary examiners.

31. —(1) The Minister may from time to time appoint such and so many veterinary examiners (in this Act referred to as veterinary examiners) for the purposes of this Act as he may think necessary and the Minister for Finance shall sanction.

(2) Every veterinary examiner shall be a duly qualified veterinary surgeon.

(3) Every veterinary examiner shall hold office on such terms and on such conditions and shall receive such remuneration and allowances as the Minister, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, shall appoint.

Deputy veterinary examiners.

32. —(1) Whenever a veterinary examiner is unable owing to illness or absence to perform his duties as a veterinary examiner under this Act the Minister may with the sanction of the Minister for Finance appoint a duly qualified veterinary surgeon (in this Act referred to as a deputy veterinary examiner) to perform the duties of such veterinary examiner for such period as the Minister shall think fit.

(2) Every deputy veterinary examiner shall have all the powers and be subject to all the obligations conferred and imposed on a veterinary examiner by this Act.

Allocation of veterinary examiners.

33. —(1) The Minister shall allocate a veterinary examiner to every registered slaughtering premises but may allocate any particular veterinary examiner to two or more registered slaughtering premises.

(2) It shall be the duty of every veterinary examiner to attend at such times as the Minister after consultation with the licensee shall appoint at every registered slaughtering premises to which he is allocated, and there examine in accordance with this Act and regulations made thereunder, all animals there presented to him for examination.

Veterinary examination regulations.

34. —The Minister may by order make regulations (in this Act referred to as veterinary examination regulations) in regard to all or any of the following matters, that is to say:—

(a) the method, standard and manner of ante mortem examination by veterinary examiners of animals intended for slaughter;

(b) the diseases or conditions on account of which animals may not be passed by a veterinary examiner as fit for slaughter;

(c) the method, standard and manner of examination by veterinary examiners of carcases and offals.

Marking of fresh meat.

35. —A veterinary examiner shall apply the mark prescribed by the regulations for the marking of fresh meat in the manner prescribed by the said regulations to the carcases and offals of every animal presented to him for examination by a licensed exporter at any registered slaughtering premises or, if the offals only of such animals are intended to be exported, to such offals if, but only if, all the following conditions are complied with, namely:—

(a) that such animal was examined by him in accordance with the veterinary examination regulations before slaughter and on being so examined was, having regard to such regulations, passed by him as fit for slaughter, and

(b) that such animal was slaughtered in accordance with the regulations for the preparation of fresh meat, and

(c) that the carcase of such animal was opened and disembowelled in his presence, and

(d) that the carcase and viscera or, where the offals only are intended to be exported, the viscera of such animal were examined by him in accordance with the veterinary examination regulations and on such examination were found free from disease, and

(e) that at the time of applying such mark such carcase or offals were clean, properly dressed, fresh and wholesome.

Consignment Certificates.

36. —Whenever a licensed exporter proposes to export in one lot a particular number of carcases of fresh meat or a particular number of offals to which a veterinary examiner has applied the mark prescribed by the regulations for marking fresh meat or to export in one lot a particular number of such carcases and a particular number of such offals and so informs such veterinary examiner, such veterinary examiner shall, at the request of such licensed exporter, issue in respect of such lot a certificate (in this Act referred to as a consignment certificate) in the prescribed form certifying that the number of carcases (to be specified therein) of fresh meat in such lot or the number (to be specified therein) of offals in such lot or the number (to be specified therein) of carcases of fresh meat and the number (to be specified therein) of offals in such lot have had the said mark duly applied to them.

Disposal of meat or offals unfit for human consumption.

37. —(1) If, on the slaughter of any animal presented for examination to a veterinary examiner at registered slaughtering premises by a licensed exporter, it is found and certified by such examiner that the carcase or offals of such animal are unfit for human consumption, such carcase or offals shall immediately be so treated by such licensed exporter as to render them incapable of being used for the food of man, or, if so required by the local sanitary authority within whose functional area such premises are situate, shall be surrendered to such local sanitary authority to be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Public Health (Ireland) Acts, 1878 to 1919, as amended by Part II. of the Local Government Act, 1925 (No. 5 of 1925).

(2) If, on the slaughter of any animal presented for examination to a veterinary examiner at registered slaughtering premises by a licensed exporter, any portion of the carcase or any portion of the offals of such animal is found and certified by such examiner to be unfit for human consumption, such portion or portions of such carcase or offals shall immediately be so treated by such licensed exporter as to render them incapable of being used for the food of man, or, if so required by the local sanitary authority within whose functional area such premises are situate, shall be surrendered to such local sanitary authority to be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Public Health (Ireland) Acts, 1878 to 1919, as amended by Part II . of the Local Government Act, 1925 (No. 5 of 1925).

(3) Every licensed exporter who is the owner of any carcase or offals or of any portion of a carcase or offals found and certified under this section to be unfit for human consumption and who through himself or his agent neglects or refuses to treat or surrender the same as required by this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first offence to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and in the case of a second or any subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(4) Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to control or affect the provisions of section 131 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act, 1847, or of sections 132 to 135 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, as amended by section 28 of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1890.

Notification of disease by veterinary examiner.

38. —A veterinary examiner in the performance of his duties under this Act shall have the same responsibility in regard to the notification of diseases as is imposed on a veterinary surgeon or veterinary practitioner in his private practice by the Animals (Notification of Disease) Order of 1919 or as may for the time being be imposed by any like order made under the Diseases of Animals Acts, 1894 to 1914.

Authority of veterinary officer of local sanitary authority to act as veterinary examiner.

39. —(1) The Minister may authorise a veterinary officer of a local sanitary authority to exercise and perform the powers and duties conferred or imposed by this Act on a veterinary examiner, and a veterinary officer so authorised is in this section referred to as an authorised evterinary officer.

(2) An authorised veterinary officer shall have all the powers and perform all the duties conferred or imposed on a veterinary examiner by or under this Act.

(3) There shall be paid by the Minister to a local sanitary authority whose veterinary officer is an authorised veterinary officer by way of contribution towards the remuneration payable by such local sanitary authority to such officer such moneys as the Minister with the sanction of the Minister for Finance shall determine.

(4) The Minister may at any time revoke an authorisation made under this section in respect of a veterinary officer of a local sanitary authority and thereupon such veterinary officer shall cease to be an authorised veterinary officer.