Day 020 - 28 Jul 94 - Page 49
1 is often a radio on. There is pneumatics in an abattoir
and they are prone to making quite a lot of noise; for
2 instance, on elevating platforms, if you have an elevating
platform for the high puller; if you have pneumatics for,
3 say, a Flaymaster gun which is a way of taking the hide
off. There are various bits of equipment which, in total,
4 generate quite a lot of noise, yes.
5 Q. Can you actually hear what is on the radio? In some
factories or plants you cannot, but it is one way of
6 testing what the background noise is, whether you can
actually recognise the tune or not?
7 A. You do see slaughtermen singing in abattoirs along
with the radio, so in some situations, yes, they can hear
8 what is going on on the radio.
9 MR. MORRIS: So it would not be surprising, would it, if cows
became stressed because of the noise?
10 A. I agree.
11 Q. Have you ever seen any cows becoming very agitated before
going into the stunning pen?
12 A. Yes, I think the most common form of problem in that
area is where a cow refuses to move; it just digs its feet
13 in, so to speak and it is very difficult to get the animal
to go forward. That is a typical reaction where you have
14 a problem animal.
15 Q. Would this be exacerbated if the animals that were going
through this process were non-dairy animals because they
16 had not been so used to being handled?
A. Interesting question. I think you might find slightly
17 different behaviour in steers and heifers. They are more
likely to be more active, whereas a dairy cow is more
18 likely to, as I use the term, dig its feet in. So you
will get slight differences in behaviour, but you can get
19 problems in all types of cattle.
20 Q. If we go to the actual stunning procedure: The stunning
procedure we are talking about is the captive bolt pistol?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Can you just explain what electric stunning of cattle
would be?
23 A. Yes. There are two systems in common use around the
world; there is only one abattoir in the United Kingdom
24 which at the moment is using electric stunning in large
cattle. One system which is prevalent in Russia and that
25 part of the world, you know, the former Eastern Block
countries, is for current to be applied to the head of the
26 animal using a manually held probe, and then current flows
through the animal to its feet which acts as the other
27 electrode. The other system was developed in New Zealand
and is common place in Australasia, that is, where a yoke
28 comes across the neck of the animal and that acts as one
electrode and then there is an automatic chin lift which
29 comes up and then automatically the second electrode is
applied to the nose, and so current would flow from the
30 nose to the neck.
