Day 101 - 10 Mar 95 - Page 48
1 Q. But that does not happen with the broiler chickens?
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Does that happen with the broiler chickens?
4 Do you know how environment/index.html">litter works?
5 A. It does happen to a degree, yes. The environment/index.html">litter will soak
6 away the excrement from the birds so there is a separation
7 there.
8
9 MS. STEEL: The excrement stays on the environment/index.html">litter at least until it
10 soaks in, which is some period of time, is it not, so until
11 then they are have to be sitting their droppings?
12 A. No. The birds can move around. They do not have to
13 stand on the same spot they just excreted on.
14
15 Q. There are a lot of birds in there. It is not just one
16 bird?
17 A. That is correct.
18
19 Q. Twenty to 30,000 birds?
20 A. About 20,000 birds I would say would be an average
21 chicken house at Sun Valley.
22
23 Q. So you feel that is something that only applies to the
24 battery chickens. It does not matter for the broiler
25 chickens?
26 A. The important thing in the statement here I think is
27 that we are talking about to separate the droppings from
28 the eggs at that stage and then go on for human
29 consumption. Legally you are not allowed to wash eggs that
30 are sold in the shell, so if they are left around lying in
31 excrement they will reach the consumer in that condition.
32
33 Q. You did actually say that you thought that the chickens
34 should be separated from their droppings as well but -----
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He said that and the question is the extent
37 to which environment/index.html">litter is effective to do that.
38
39 MS. STEEL: Have you asked Sun Valley to clear out the environment/index.html">litter
40 from the broiler sheds more often?
41 A. No.
42
43 Q. So you are happy for them to be on environment/index.html">litter and their own
44 excrement from the time they get put on there until the
45 time they are cleared out; that does not trouble you?
46 A. The important thing is the management of the environment/index.html">litter.
47 If there was mismanagement of the environment/index.html">litter and the environment/index.html">litter was
48 in poor condition then, yes, that would concern me, but
49 I am confident that the Sun Valley chicken houses are
50 managed extremely well and extremely competently and the
51 stockmen do their job and the environment/index.html">litter is always in a good
52 condition.
53
54 Q. Again you are relying on them to tell you that?
55 A. It has certainly always been the case when I have
56 visited the farms as well.
57
58 Q. Mr. Oakley said that the company first published the animal
59 welfare policy in the Fact Book because of increasing
60 public interest in this area. Do you feel that this is
