Day 096 - 03 Mar 95 - Page 47
1 people.
2
3 Q. Have you always used head only stunning?
4 A. When we first started business in the 1950s.
5
6 Q. OK. Just take the last 10 years then.
7 A. Yes.
8
9 Q. I do not know if you can find orange bundle Dr. Gregory's
10 document.
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: They are down the bottom, No. V.
13
14 MS. STEEL: Just before we open that up, when the tongs are put
15 on the animal's head, can you just explain where each of
16 the two scissor parts would go?
17 A. Yes, the ideal position is the tongs to go on the head
18 here across the eyes just in front of the ear, if
19 possible. Everyone is trained to do that, and when the pig
20 comes in the pen to be stunned, obviously, the purpose is
21 to make it as quick and as efficient as possible.
22 Sometimes the pig will be caught at the neck, and that will
23 give an instant stun but, as the pig falls down, that is
24 when it falls on the stunner's leg. He then lets the tongs
25 come round, so it comes over the back of one ear so that is
26 direct contact through the brain and you get a good,
27 efficient stun.
28
29 Q. If you could turn to page 280 in this bundle, please,
30 tab E?
31 A. Yes.
32
33 Q. If you look at paragraph 55 it says: "Electrical equipment
34 used to stun an animal must be set to deliver a current
35 which is sufficient to render the animal instantaneously
36 insensible to pain. The equipment must be fitted with a
37 device to prevent it delivering a current below that which
38 has been set to deliver, as may occur if the electrical
39 resistance offered by the animal is unusually high". You
40 say that up to now you have not had those devices fitted to
41 your stunning equipment?
42 A. No, because there has been nothing commercially
43 available in the world.
44
45 Q. Why should they have it in the MAFF guidelines if it is not
46 available?
47 A. Yes. It is a guideline which most of the industry is
48 trying their hardest to achieve as quickly as possible, but
49 until the product becomes commercially available, one thing
50 is to have a pilot type piece of equipment that has been
51 developed in scientific arena, it is quite a while before
52 it is made available commercially. It is now the second
53 time that the attempt has been made and it is now
54 available.
55
56 Q. But this pamphlet was published two years ago?
57 A. Yes.
58
59 Q. Are you really saying that this equipment has not been
60 commercially available before now?
