Day 113 - 03 Apr 95 - Page 45


     
     1   Q.   England, Wales, Scotland?
     2        A.  I think it is about -- it is going down all the time --
     3        I think it is about 450 at the moment, but some of those
     4        are limited to slaughtering only one species, like sheep or
     5        pigs.
     6
     7   Q.   So it will be something less that would be cattle
     8        slaughterhouses?
     9        A.  Yes, probably about 80 per cent of that number would
    10        slaughter cattle amongst other animals.
    11
    12   Q.   So, if McKey's (which is a supplier of McDonald's) used the
    13        services of anything up to 70 abattoirs, what conclusion
    14        would you draw from that in terms of general conditions in
    15        the industry?
    16        A.  Well, the conditions are harsh.  I know when the BSE
    17        epidemic started, about 40 cows arrived at British
    18        slaughterhouses with signs of BSE.  In other words, they
    19        were, if you like, fallen animals.  They were diseased.
    20        That was a rush because there was this new disease.
    21
    22   Q.   No, what I mean is that if McDonald's uses the services of,
    23        say, or cattle for McDonald's products go through 70 out
    24        of, say, whatever it is, nearly 400 slaughterhouses, what
    25        I am saying, you have talked about the general conditions
    26        in the industry?
    27        A.  Yes.
    28
    29   Q.   Would that or would it not apply to that kind of volume of
    30        beef that is going through 70 slaughterhouses?
    31        A.  They would have the going rate of fallen stock.
    32
    33   Q.   No, I do not mean fallen stock; I mean just general
    34        conditions in the industry.  May be if I ask it in a
    35        leading way -----
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, I understand what you are -- what you are
    38        really being asked is whether you, from your point of view,
    39        have any reason to suppose that the circumstances of the
    40        animals which go to abattoirs which supply McDonald's
    41        suppliers with beef are any different to such general
    42        circumstances as prevail within the industry?
    43        A.  I would think they were standard.
    44
    45   MR. MORRIS:  If we can just move along the killing line, if you
    46        like, quickly go through and say what your welfare concerns
    47        would be at each stage up to the actual slaughter stage?
    48        A.  The main things are the loading of the animal, the
    49        unloading, the lairage, what conditions there are on the
    50        lairage, how long they spend in the lairage, how calm they 
    51        are, have they got feed, have they got water, have they got 
    52        fresh straw, is ventilation good, are they being stressed 
    53        by being mixed in groups, are they being driven into the
    54        stunning area satisfactorily, is the design of the
    55        slaughterhouse in agreement with the Ministry, the Ministry
    56        has booklets on this, that means are the surfaces right,
    57        are they slippery, are they corrosive, are there sharp
    58        corners, is there a lot of noise, do the drovers use sticks
    59        and goads, and how calmly do that go into the stunning box
    60        in the first way.

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