SLAUGHTER-HOUSE or ABATTOIR. Slaughter-houses are of two kinds, those which belong to individual butchers (private) and those which belong to public authorities (public). Private slaughter-houses in existence in England before the passing of the Public Health Act 1875 were in most instances established with out licence by the local authority, but after 1890 urban authorities adopting Part III. of the Public Health (Amendment) Act of that year could license for limited periods of not less than one year all slaughter-houses coming into existence after such adoption. In London, slaughter-houses have been licensed since 1855. In countries where the inspection of meat is compulsory, private slaughter-houses tend to be superseded by public abattoirs.
Public slaughter-houses are of great antiquity and owe their beginnings to Roman civilization. They existed in many large towns of Germany in mediaeval times under the name of Kuttel hofe, some of which continued to exist within recent years. Their use, however, was not obligatory but shortly after the mid dle of the i9th century the prevalence of trichinosis compelled a return to the compulsory use of them (Schwarz, Ban, Einrichtung and Betrieb offentlicher Schlacht- und Viehhofe). In France, in the 15th and 16th centuries, numerous towns had public slaughter houses. By decrees of Napoleon I. in 1807 and 1810 they were made compulsory in all large towns, the needs of Paris being determined by a Commission, which recommended the establish ment of five abattoirs or public slaughter-houses. In 1838 the re quirement was extended to all towns, and the slaughter-houses had to be situated at a distance from dwelling-houses. In 1867 the large abattoir of La Villette was constructed in Paris, two of the above five being closed. In 1898 the additional abattoir of Vaugirard was opened, and Villejuif alone remained open for the slaughter of horses for human food.
In Prussia there were 321 public slaughter-houses in 1897. A work published later (Les Abattoirs publics, by J. de Loverdo, H.
Martel and Mallet, 1906) gives the number of public slaughter houses as 839 in Germany, 84 in England, 912 in France and nearly 200 in Austria. In some countries slaughter-houses are primitive.
In the British dominions overseas advance is being made. New Zealand has a number of public slaughter-houses and vigorous in spection. Under the Meat Supervision Act of Victoria regula tions have been made for Melbourne. Cattle are killed in public slaughter-houses and the carcases are stamped, thus showing in which slaughter-house they have been killed. These steps are necessitated by the frozen meat trade.
Construction.—The planning and construction of public slaughter-houses have been the subject of excellent treatises by German writers, among whom may be mentioned Dr. Oscar Schwarz, of Stolp, and Herr Osthoff, a former city architect of Berlin. The slaughter-house should be situated outside the town, or so placed as to be isolated, and approached by wide roads, so that if cattle are driven through them there should not be inter ference with the traffic. If possible, the slaughter-house should be connected with the railway system by a branch line, with a plat form which has an impervious surface capable of being readily cleansed and disinfected. The most convenient shape of the site is a rectangle or square, having one side abutting on the principal road and another side bounded by the railway. A cattle-market is usually provided in connection with the slaughter-house, and the position should be such that cattle brought by train can be taken immediately into the cattle-market and from the market or the railway to the slaughter-house. The cattle-market should be en tirely separate from the slaughter-house area. Osthoff states (Schlachthofe fur kleine und inittelgrosse Stddte) that the area of the slaughter-house should be as follows : Sq. Metres Towns of 5,000- 7,000 inhabitants . . 0.40 per inhabitant.