Day 069 - 19 Dec 94 - Page 62
1 A. Yes -- sorry, Ms. Steel, I forgot your question, sorry.
2 Your last question?
3
4 MS. STEEL: I was putting to you that laminitis was a painful
5 condition for the animals?
6 A. It could be. It depends on the extent. It normally
7 attacks the hoof of the animal. If it is not treated, it
8 could extend to the higher. It could be painful, yes, it
9 could, but it depends on the degree.
10
11 Q. So it would be something that would have welfare
12 implications if it was not being treated?
13 A. Yes. In addition to that, they have some economic
14 implications too. If the animal does not feel right, when
15 an animal is under stress, it will not eat properly, so if
16 he does not eat, he does not gain weight, so it has both
17 implications.
18
19 Q. How much expertise do you really have in the area of
20 welfare of animals?
21 A. You can look at my record -- quite extensive. I have
22 taken courses. I have looked at the animals. I have
23 worked in that area. It is hard to say how much. I cannot
24 tell you, 50 pounds, 60 pounds. I can tell you since 1979
25 I have worked with animals and nutrition where I published
26 my first publication, and it is something directly related
27 to the welfare of animals. So, I can tell you in terms of
28 years, it has been over 20 years.
29
30 Q. Was it directly to do with the welfare of animals or was it
31 more to do with how to get the best production
32 economically?
33 A. Well, the welfare of an animal or the animal production
34 and -- let me see if I can clarify one thing that by the
35 term of the question you seem to be missing. When we look
36 at an animal in terms of animal production, whether it is
37 beef, whether it is a beef animal or whether it is a
38 chicken, we look at the whole picture. By looking at the
39 whole -- you cannot grow an animal, you cannot raise an
40 animal based on a single factor in terms of how much meat
41 it is going to give you; you have to look at the whole
42 picture.
43
44 We have always taken in the meat industry and the chicken
45 industry and the research and the government, they look at
46 the whole picture. If you want to produce an animal,
47 effectively, for whatever reasons you want to do it, for
48 economic reasons, for a pet, you have to look at the whole
49 picture. The whole picture involves the animal itself,
50 involves the environment, it involves the breeds, it
51 involves the resistance to diseases, their growth rate,
52 everything that will affect the animal.
53
54 By those terms, and if you focus on those, if you miss one
55 single factor that is important, such as disease resistant,
56 for example, you will not be successful. You have to look
57 at the whole picture. You have to look at the whole
58 animal. If an animal is not treated right because it is
59 not fed right, it will not gain weight. It will become
60 sick, more susceptible to diseases.
