Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 18
1 they are then removed by a process called "catching"?
2 A. Yes.
3
4 Q. Which is done manually still, is it?
5 A. Yes.
6
7 Q. Is that or is it not -- I do not know, I have never done it
8 -- a skilled job?
9 A. It is not particularly skilled in terms of the amount
10 of training that is required. But it is very skilled in
11 terms of doing it in an effective way which does not harm
12 the birds and which actually gets the job done in a smooth
13 way. It does require care, training and dedication.
14
15 Q. Are the catchers company men or are they outsiders?
16 A. About 50-50. We have some contract catching as well as
17 company-owned.
18
19 Q. Suppose one of your employed catchers was observed by the
20 farm manager, perhaps he was in a bad mood, handling the
21 birds roughly and that was reported to you, what would your
22 response be?
23 A. If they are reported and they are shown to be at fault,
24 then again they are released from their employment.
25
26 Q. I would like, if I may, to be a little bit more systematic
27 from now on.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Mr. Rampton, I appreciate that what has
30 happened in the last year or two is very important, but it
31 is probably also important for me to know what was in place
32 in, say, 1988, 1989, 1990, for instance, the heat stress
33 matter, and really at any point where something may have
34 changed in the last few years.
35
36 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I am coming to temperature as a
37 separate topic later on. But, just while his Lordship
38 asked that, Dr. Pattison, when was this, as it were,
39 fail-safe system for hot weather introduced?
40 A. The summer before last.
41
42 Q. 1993?
43 A. 1993.
44
45 Q. Were your fatalities from heat stress higher before that
46 was introduced?
47 A. They were, yes.
48
49 Q. Significantly higher?
50 A. Well, any heat stress mortality, one incident is
51 significant and one that we would want to avoid. So, in
52 any hot period there was always the risk that that could
53 happen and that is really what we wanted to avoid.
54
55 Q. Is that something you have been conscious of for a time?
56 A. It is something we have been conscious of and the
57 industry as well. We felt it was unacceptable to continue
58 to operate in that way.
59
60 Q. If one puts it bluntly, what happens to birds that die of
