Day 289 - 29 Oct 96 - Page 30


     
     1        And Dr. Gregory said that both he and the RSPCA agree that
     2        the best method to use would be the stun-kill method.
     3        Sun Valley Poultry are not using that method basically
     4        because they say it causes a higher prevalence of quality
     5        problems with the carcass.  So that is financial
     6        considerations again coming before the welfare of the
     7        birds.
     8
     9        I mean, the evidence on current got quite complicated,
    10        because Sun Valley were using a different kind of current,
    11        a different ----
    12
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  They were using a different wavelength.
    14
    15   MS. STEEL:   Yes, a different wavelength.  Basically the level
    16        of current they were using was way below what Dr. Gregory
    17        and other welfare bodies recommend, but because it was a
    18        different wavelength, it was not known whether or not the
    19        same considerations applied to the welfare of the birds.
    20
    21        So, I mean, effectively Sun Valley are experimenting on the
    22        birds and using methods which may very well be causing pain
    23        and distress for the birds, when they could be using the
    24        stun-kill method as recommended by the RSPCA and by
    25        Dr. Gregory and by other welfare organisations.
    26
    27        Dr. Gregory did say that the current they were using was
    28        highly unlikely to induce a cardiac arrest.  That was on
    29        page 20 of the same day.  He said a high frequency such as
    30        500 hertz is very unlikely to induce cardiac arrest even at
    31        high current levels, and at low current levels, it
    32        certainly was not going to.
    33
    34        And I asked at line 18 on page 20:  Is it not more likely
    35        that some birds are not going to be stunned at all.  He
    36        said:  The lower the current you give a bird, the less
    37        likely it is to stun, yes.  (Pause)
    38
    39        I do not know whether it might be helpful to have a break
    40        now.
    41
    42   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  Five minutes.
    43
    44                         (Short Adjournment)
    45
    46   MS. STEEL:   In the statement of Dr. Gregory he refers to 0.7
    47        percent of the birds showing a reflex response between the
    48        stunner and the neck cutter to manually putting their heads
    49        down.  And he says:  In this situation if a bird is
    50        conscious it will show reflex withdrawal of the head.  This 
    51        is referred to on day 20, page 22 of the transcript.  He 
    52        could not remember how many birds he had tested to get that 
    53        0.7 percent.  I asked him a question about it would
    54        represent 942 birds a day.  That was based on 35 million
    55        being killed in a year.  That 35 million being killed in a
    56        year, I cannot remember where that figure comes from, but
    57        it works out differently if you use the figure given by Dr.
    58        Pattison of 170,000 birds being slaughtered a day, then
    59        that is 1,190 birds every day who would show a reflex
    60        reaction and therefore that would indicate that they were

Prev Next Index