Day 066 - 14 Dec 94 - Page 61
1 Q. I want to go back now, if I may, to the egg-laying birds
2 which are kept in battery cages, as we call them in this
3 country. It is a different kind of bird. It is a smaller
4 kind of bird and it is not bred for its meat; is that
5 right?
6 A. Can you repeat the question?
7
8 Q. You told us it was a different kind of a bird that is bred
9 for egg-laying?
10 A. Yes.
11
12 Q. Presumably, it is a bit smaller than a broiler chicken?
13 A. Yes, it is.
14
15 Q. How many of these chickens would you find in one egg-laying
16 cage?
17 A. Four, normally four.
18
19 Q. Do you have things in America called "free range chickens"?
20 A. A very small proportion, yes.
21
22 Q. Do you have chickens that live not in cages but in large
23 sort of barn houses, egg-layers, I mean?
24 A. Very small proportion, and it is mainly from people who
25 have their own chickens. Commercially, it is very, very
26 limited.
27
28 Q. Have you thought about the animal welfare implications of
29 keeping four birds in a cage for, I suppose, the duration
30 of their useful life?
31 A. Absolutely.
32
33 Q. In a house, there is no access to fresh air or sunshine, is
34 there?
35 A. Yes, I have thought about it, yes.
36
37 Q. They have?
38 A. I have thought about it and they do get air.
39
40 Q. They get air?
41 A. I do not know what the definition you have in mind by
42 the definition of "fresh air".
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You had better explain because -----
45
46 MR. RAMPTON: It is obvious. What I meant is they cannot stand
47 in a field and have the wind blow through their feathers,
48 can they?
49 A. No.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: "Fresh air" means out in the open air,
52 really, rather than having unpolluted air inside. It does
53 not mean clean air.
54 A. OK.
55
56 Q. Not in our terminology.
57
58 MR. RAMPTON: No. Your Lordship is quite right; it is a
59 difference of terminology.
60
