Day 104 - 15 Mar 95 - Page 64
1 Q. Did you test for Salmonella before 1989?
2 A. We have been testing for Salmonella since 1975.
3
4 Q. The rate has come down since then. The Freedom Foods RSPCA
5 thing, you said you did not know when it would come out.
6 Is it not right that there is no Freedom Food for broilers
7 because the RSPCA thinks that the whole system is
8 unacceptable and it is too much of a task to sort something
9 out?
10 A. There has just appeared last week and I got a draft
11 document of Freedom Foods published by the RSPCA for
12 broilers.
13
14 Q. Is it not right that the RSPCA has condemned the broiler
15 system?
16 A. I have no idea whether they have or not.
17
18 Q. In a press release in 1992. You are not aware of that?
19 A. I am not aware of that.
20
21 Q. That document that you were talking about, is that just a
22 draft document at this stage?
23 A. It is in draft form, yes.
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Have you got that qua Sun Valley foods, or
26 qua a member of the FAWC Committee, or both?
27 A. It has been sent to me as for Sun Valley Poultry for
28 comments.
29
30 MS. STEEL: So they are seeking the comments of the poultry
31 industry?
32 A. Yes.
33
34 Q. You said about the behaviour of the broilers being
35 "conditioned by their environment to a certain extent".
36 Can you explain what you mean by that?
37 A. The behaviour of any animal is conditioned to a certain
38 extent by its environment and its expectations of life are
39 also determined by its environment, but that applies to all
40 animal species. That was really all I meant.
41
42 Q. Can you give some examples of how broiler's behaviour is
43 conditioned by their environment?
44 A. I can give one example where if you open the sides of a
45 shed of a broiler house, they do not all rush out at once.
46
47 Q. And that is because of the conditioning of their
48 environment?
49 A. Yes. They are used to being indoors and it takes them
50 a while to accept a new situation.
51
52 Q. That would also be because it would be much brighter
53 outside as well so it is would be a startling?
54 A. Yes.
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Would you like want a little break now?
57
58 MS. STEEL: Yes, if that is OK.
59
60 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I would only say that in view of some
