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SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - LONG TITLE

An Act to amend the law with respect to slaughter-houses, and for
purposes connected with that matter.{1}
[7th July 1953]
Licensing of slaughter-houses.

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 1

1.(1) The Ministry of Agriculture (in this Act referred to as "the
Ministry") may issue licences in respect of slaughter-houses, subject
to such conditions as may be prescribed including (but without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing words) conditions as to
the kind or kinds of animal which may be slaughtered in any
slaughter-house.

(2) An application for a licence under this section (in this Act
referred to as a "licence") shall be in such form as may be
prescribed.

(3) The Ministry, on receiving an application for a licence

[(a)shall, before issuing the licence, consult the district council
for the district in which are situated the premises in respect of
which the application is made];

(b)may before issuing the licence cause an inspection to be made by
an authorised officer of the premises, plant and equipment proposed
to be used for the purposes of the slaughter-house in respect of
which the application is made.

(4) An application duly made for the issue of a licence may be
refused on the ground that

(a)the applicant was at any time a licence-holder whose licence has
been revoked either by the Ministry under this Act or by a court
of summary jurisdiction under any other enactment;

(b)the slaughter-house of the applicant is one in respect of which
a licence previously subsisted and has been revoked either by the
Ministry or by a court as aforesaid;

(c)the premises used, or proposed to be used, for the purposes of
the slaughter-house of the applicant are wholly or partly the same
as those used for the purposes of a slaughter-house in respect of
which a licence previously subsisted and has been revoked either by
the Ministry or by a court as aforesaid;

(d)the applicant is a person who has been convicted of an offence
against this Act or any other enactment relating to the regulation
of slaughter-houses;

(e)the Ministry is not satisfied that the premises, plant and
equipment used for the purposes of the slaughter-house of the
applicant comply or, regard being had to any alterations or
additions which it is proposed to make respecting the premises or
the buildings or plant thereon or the equipment thereof, will be
made to comply, with such requirements as shall be prescribed; or

(f)the Ministry is not satisfied that, regard being had to the
supply of animals available or likely to become available in the
area wherein the premises are situate in respect of which the
application is made, to the slaughter-house facilities already
available to that area, and (without prejudice to the generality of
the foregoing words of this paragraph) to any relevant special
circumstances, the premises are needed for use as a slaughter-house;

(5) A licence shall be in such form as may be prescribed, and
shall contain a statement specifying the name and address of the
licence-holder and particulars of the premises used for the purposes
of the slaughter-house in respect of which it is issued.

(6) A licence shall continue in force until it is revoked or
suspended either under section three of this Act or by a court of
summary jurisdiction under any other enactment, or is surrendered by
the licence-holder.

(7) Subject to the succeeding sub-section, it shall not be lawful
for any person to slaughter or cause or permit to be slaughtered
for human consumption an animal of any kind except in a
slaughter-house duly licensed under this section for the slaughter of
animals of that kind, or operated by the Ministry under section
eight of this Act.

(8) The Ministry may by order exempt from the provisions of the
last preceding sub-section

(a)the slaughter in any part of Northern Ireland designated in the
order of pigs for sale to a person who is a licensed bacon-curer
within the meaning of the Agricultural Produce (Meat Regulation) Act
(Northern Ireland), 1930;

(b)the slaughter on farms in any part of Northern Ireland designated
in the order of animals, the property of the owner or occupier of
the farm on which they are slaughtered, for the purpose of their
being consumed in the household of such owner or occuper;

(c)the slaughter of any animal under or by virtue of the Diseases
of Animals Acts (Northern Ireland), 1894 to 1948; or

(d)the slaughter of animals whose immediate slaughter becomes
necessary or expedient by reason of injury or by reason of
infirmity other than disease within the meaning of the Diseases of
Animals Acts (Northern Ireland), 1894 to 1948;

Register of licensed slaughter-houses.

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 2

2.(1) The Ministry shall for the purposes of this Act cause to be
kept a register and in respect of every licence issued shall cause
to be entered in that register

(a)the full name, address and description of the licence-holder;

(b)particulars of the premises used for the purposes of the
slaughter-house in respect of which the licence is issued;

(c)such other particulars as may from time to time be determined by
the Ministry.

Subs.(2) rep. by 1962 c.13 (NI) s.23 sch.

Revocation and suspension of licences.

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 3

3. The Ministry may revoke or suspend a licence by reason

(a)of the non-compliance of the licence-holder with any condition
attached thereto; or

(b)that the licence-holder has been convicted of an offence against
this Act, or under any other enactment relating to the regulation
of slaughter-houses.

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 4
Appeals.

4. The Ministry where it revokes or suspends a licence shall by
means of a registered letter notify its decision to the
licence-holder concerned, who may within twenty-eight days of the
posting of such letter serve on the Ministry in accordance with
county court rules a notice of appeal to quarter sessions against
such decision; and such appeal shall be heard and determined by the
court of quarter sessions for the district in which the premises
are situate in respect of which the licence was issued....

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 5
Records and returns.

5.(1) Licence-holders shall keep such records and shall furnish to
the Ministry in the prescribed manner and at the prescribed times
such returns as may be prescribed. Any such records shall be open
to inspection at all reasonable times by an authorised officer.

(2) No individual return or part of a return furnished under this
section shall be published or disclosed except [to a Department of
the Government of Northern Ireland or of the United Kingdom or] for
the purposes of a prosecution under this Act.[

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 5A
Duty to slaughter animals in slaughter-houses at request of retailers
of meat.

5A.(1) A district council which manages or has under its control a
slaughter-house and any other person operating a commercial
slaughter-house shall, at the request of any person carrying on the
business of selling meat by retail for human consumption in Northern
Ireland, slaughter any animal presented to it or him for slaughter
for the purposes of that business, being an animal of a kind which
may be slaughtered in that slaughter-house.

(2) An animal so slaughtered in a commercial slaughter-house shall
be slaughtered upon such terms and conditions as shall be determined
by the Department and an animal so slaughtered in a slaughter-house
managed or under the control of a district council shall be
slaughtered in accordance with the bye-laws applying to that
slaughter-house.

(3) In this section "commercial slaughter-house" means a
slaughter-house which is not managed by or under the control of a
district council.

(4) A district council or other person who fails to comply with
the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence
under this Act.]

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 6
Enforcement.

6.(1) An authorised officer shall, without prejudice to any other
provision of this Act, have power

(a)to enter at all reasonable times any premises owned or occupied
for the purpose of his slaughter-house by or on behalf of a
licence-holder, and to inspect any process, plant, equipment or
appliance used in or in connection with that slaughter-house, or any
animal, meat, offals or any other substance or thing being in his
possession for the purpose of that slaughter-house;

(b)to take for the purpose of expert examination samples of meat or
offals found in his possession for the purpose of his
slaughter-house.

(2) If the Ministry has reason to believe that, in contravention of
sub-section (7) of section one of this Act, any animal has been or
is about to be slaughtered in or at any premises or place, the
Ministry may specially authorise any of its officers to enter such
premises or place, and an officer so authorised shall have the like
powers of entry, inspection and taking samples as are conferred on
an authorised officer by the preceding sub-section.

(3) An authorised officer exercising any power conferred on him by
or under this Act shall produce his authority if so requested by
or on behalf of the owner or occupier of the premises wherein, or
in relation to which, he is exercising or is about to exercise
such power.

(4) Any person who

(a)obstructs or impedes an authorised officer in the exercise of any
power conferred on him by this Act;

(b)fraudulently alters or uses, or causes or permits to be
fraudulently altered or used, any licence or other document issued
or granted under or by virtue of this Act;

(c)being a licence-holder, makes any false or fraudulent statement in
any record kept by him under or by virtue of this Act;

(d)acts in contravention of or neglects or fails to comply with any
provision of this Act or of any regulation made thereunder;

(5) A person guilty of an offence against this Act shall on
summary conviction thereof be liable

(a)for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding [#100];

(b)for a second or any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding
[#250];

(6) Subject to the provisions of section two hundred and sixty-four
of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, where an offence against
this Act was committed by a body corporate and is proved to have
been so committed with the consent or approval, or to have been
facilitated by any neglect or default on the part, of any director,
manager, secretary or other officer thereof, such director, manager,
secretary or other officer shall be deemed to be guilty of such
offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished
accordingly.

(7) All offences against this Act shall be prosecuted, and all
fines in respect thereof shall be recovered, in manner provided by
the Summary Jurisdiction Acts (Northern Ireland).

(8) A prosecution for an offence against this Act shall not be
instituted otherwise than by or with the consent of the
Attorney-General or the Ministry, except

(a)a prosecution for an offence committed by an officer of the
Ministry;

(b)a prosecution by a local authority for an offence against this
Act which is also an offence against any enactment relating to the
sale of food or the public health and enforceable by such
authority:

Provided that this sub-section shall not be construed as rendering
any person liable to be punished more than once for any offence.

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 7
Abolition of certain functions of local authorities.

7.(1) Local authorities shall cease to have any functions in
relation to the licensing of premises for use as slaughter-houses or
to the registering of slaughter-houses.

Subs.(2), with Pt.I of Second Schedule, effects amendments

(3) Any provision of any local or private Act inconsistent with the
foregoing provisions of this section shall cease to have effect.

(4) Any regulation, bye-law, order or other instrument which
immediately before the commencement of this Act has effect by virtue
of any enactment amended by this section shall thereafter have
effect as if it had been made after such commencement.

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 8
Power of Ministry to provide slaughter-house facilities.

8.(1) Subject to the next succeeding sub-section, where it appears
to the Ministry that it would be in the interests of efficiency or
economy or of the development of the livestock industry that a
slaughter-house should be provided by the Ministry, the Ministry,
notwithstanding anything in any enactment, may, with the approval of
the Ministry of Finance, acquire, provide, maintain or operate a
slaughter-house in any place or places, and may, in respect of the
use of any such slaughter-house by any person, charge such fees as
the Ministry of Finance may approve; and any fee so charged shall
be recoverable by the Ministry as a civil debt due to it.

(2) Where a local authority are at the commencement of this Act
operating a slaughter-house provided by them, the Ministry if it
proposes to exercise within their area its powers under the
preceding sub-section, shall give to the local authority written
notice of its intention so to do; and if the local authority
object to such exercise, the provisions of the First Schedule to
this Act shall have effect.

(3) The Ministry or on its behalf the Ministry of Finance may hold
land for the purposes of this section and may dispose of any land
so held which ceases to be necessary for those purposes.

Subs.(4), with Pt.II of Second Schedule, effects amendments

S.9 amends s.9 of 1932 c.9 (NI)

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 10
Expenses.

10. . . . any sums received by the Ministry under this Act
whether by way of fees or in respect of the operation of any
slaughter-house under section eight of this Act shall be paid into
the Exchequer.

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 11
Regulations.

11.(1) The Ministry may make regulations prescribing anything which
under this Act is to or may be prescribed, and anything necessary
or expedient for giving full effect to the provisions of this Act.

(2) All regulations made under this Act shall, as soon as may be
after they are made, be laid before each House of Parliament. If
either such House within the statutory period next after any such
regulations have been so laid resolves that the regulations shall be
annulled those regulations shall, after the date of the resolution,
be void, but without prejudice to the validity of anything done
thereunder or to the making of new regulations.

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 12
Interpretation.

12.(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the
expression

"animal" has the same meaning as in the Slaughter of Animals Act
(Northern Ireland), 1932;

"authorised officer" means an officer of the Ministry generally or
specially authorised in writing by the Ministry for the purposes of
this Act;

"enactment" includes any provision in any Act (whether public
general, local or private) of the Parliament of Northern Ireland or
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and a provision in any
Order in Council, order, regulation, rule, bye-law, scheme or other
instrument made under any such Act;

"exercise", in relation to functions, includes performance, and
grammatical variations of that expression shall be construed
accordingly;

"functions" includes powers and duties;

"land" includes buildings, and any right or interest in, to or in
respect of land;

"licence-holder" means a person to whom a licence has been issued;

"licensed", in relation to a slaughter-house, means operated under a
subsisting licence;

"local authority" means the council of a county or other borough or
a county district;

"Ministry" has the meaning assigned to that expression in sub-section
(1) of section one of this Act;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations;

"regulations" means regulations made by the Ministry under this Act;

"slaughter-house" has the same meaning as in the Slaughter of
Animals Act (Northern Ireland), 1932.

Subs.(2)(3) rep. by 1954 c.33 (NI) s.48(1) sch.

SLAUGHTER-HOUSES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1953 - SECT 13
Short title and citation.

13.(1) This Act may be cited as the Slaughter-houses Act (Northern
Ireland), 1953, and this Act and the Slaughter of Animals Act
(Northern Ireland), 1932, may be cited together as the Slaughter of
Animals Acts (Northern Ireland), 1932 and 1953.

Subs.(2) rep. by SLR 1973

1. The local authority, if they object to the Ministry's proposal,
may within one month of the receipt of the notice thereof serve on
the Ministry a notice setting forth particulars of their objection.

2. The Ministry within one month of the service of the notice of
objection may serve on the local authority a notice requiring them
to provide within the time specified in the notice such
slaughter-house facilities as are so specified.

3. The local authority within one month of the service of the last
mentioned notice may serve on the Ministry a notice stating that
they undertake to comply with the requirements specified in the
Ministry's notice; and thereupon it shall be the duty of the local
authority to comply with those requirements. If the local authority
fail so to notify the Ministry the Ministry may forthwith proceed
to exercise the power conferred on it by sub-section (1) of section
eight.

4. Where the local authority duly serve a notice under the last
preceding paragraph and after the expiration of six months therefrom
it appears to the Ministry at any time that the authority will be
unable to fulfil their undertaking within the required time, the
Ministry may serve on the local authority a notice stating that in
the opinion of the Ministry they will be unable so to fulfil their
undertaking.

5. The local authority within fourteen days of the service of the
last mentioned notice on them may serve on the Ministry a notice
disputing the opinion of the Ministry; and if the local authority
duly serve such a notice the Ministry shall not proceed to the
exercise of its powers under sub-section (1) of section eight until
a local inquiry has been held.

6. If

(a)the local authority do not dispute the Ministry's opinion as
aforesaid; or

(b)a local inquiry having been held, the Ministry on consideration
of the report of the person who held it is satisfied that the
local authority will be unable duly to fulfil their undertaking;

7. Where an order is made under the last preceding paragraph the
Ministry

(a)may proceed to exercise its powers under sub-section (1) of
section eight as if no objection to such exercise had been made in
the first instance;

(b)shall pay to the local authority the amount of any expenditure
which in the opinion of the Ministry was properly and necessarily
incurred by them between the date of their undertaking and the
making of the order.

8. All notices given under the foregoing provisions of this Part
shall be in writing and shall be served by registered post.

1. The Ministry shall appoint a person to hold the inquiry and
report thereon to the Ministry. A person so appointed is in this
Part of this Schedule referred to as "the inspector".

2. The Ministry may appoint one or more than one person possessing
such legal, medical or other professional qualifications as the
Ministry thinks appropriate, to assist the inspector.

3. The Ministry shall, not less than fourteen days before the
holding of the inquiry, give public notice, and shall send to the
local authority by registered post notice in writing, of the date,
hour and place fixed for the holding thereof.

4. The inspector may by notice require any person

(a)to attend at the time and place set forth in the notice to
give evidence or to produce any books or documents in his custody
or under his control which relate to any matter in question at the
inquiry; or

(b)to furnish within such reasonable period as is specified in the
notice such information relating to any matter in question at the
inquiry as the inspector may think fit and as the person so
required is able to furnish:

Provided that

(i)no person shall be required in obedience to such a notice to
attend at any place which is more than ten miles from the place
where he resides, unless the necessary expenses are paid or tendered
to him; and

(ii)nothing in this paragraph shall empower the inspector to require
any person to produce any book or document or to answer any
question which he would be entitled, on the ground of privilege or
otherwise, to refuse to produce or to answer if the inquiry were a
proceeding in a court of law.

5. The inspector may administer oaths and examine witnesses on oath
and may accept in lieu of evidence on oath by any person a
statement in writing by that person.

6. Any person who refuses or wilfully neglects to attend in
obedience to a notice under paragraph 4 of this Part of this
Schedule, or to give evidence, or who wilfully alters, suppresses,
conceals, destroys or refuses to produce any book or document which
he may be required to produce by any such notice or who refuses
or wilfully neglects to furnish any information which he is required
to furnish under sub-paragraph (b) of the said paragraph 4 shall be
liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds
or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.

7. The expenses incurred by the Ministry in relation to any inquiry
held under this Act (including such sum or sums as the Ministry
may with the approval of the Ministry of Finance determine in
respect of the services of the inspector and any person appointed
to assist him) shall be paid by the Ministry and the local
authority in such proportions as the inspector shall recommend in
his report, and the Ministry may make an order accordingly.

8. Any order by the Ministry under the last preceding paragraph may
on the application of either party to the inquiry be made a rule
of the High Court.

Second ScheduleAmendments