Day 069 - 19 Dec 94 - Page 62


     
     1        A.  Yes -- sorry, Ms. Steel, I forgot your question, sorry.
     2        Your last question?
     3
     4   MS. STEEL:  I was putting to you that laminitis was a painful
     5        condition for the animals?
     6        A.  It could be.  It depends on the extent.  It normally
     7        attacks the hoof of the animal.  If it is not treated, it
     8        could extend to the higher.  It could be painful, yes, it
     9        could, but it depends on the degree.
    10
    11   Q.   So it would be something that would have welfare
    12        implications if it was not being treated?
    13        A.  Yes.  In addition to that, they have some economic
    14        implications too.  If the animal does not feel right, when
    15        an animal is under stress, it will not eat properly, so if
    16        he does not eat, he does not gain weight, so it has both
    17        implications.
    18
    19   Q.   How much expertise do you really have in the area of
    20        welfare of animals?
    21        A.  You can look at my record -- quite extensive.  I have
    22        taken courses.  I have looked at the animals.  I have
    23        worked in that area.  It is hard to say how much.  I cannot
    24        tell you, 50 pounds, 60 pounds.  I can tell you since 1979
    25        I have worked with animals and nutrition where I published
    26        my first publication, and it is something directly related
    27        to the welfare of animals.  So, I can tell you in terms of
    28        years, it has been over 20 years.
    29
    30   Q.   Was it directly to do with the welfare of animals or was it
    31        more to do with how to get the best production
    32        economically?
    33        A.  Well, the welfare of an animal or the animal production
    34        and -- let me see if I can clarify one thing that by the
    35        term of the question you seem to be missing.  When we look
    36        at an animal in terms of animal production, whether it is
    37        beef, whether it is a beef animal or whether it is a
    38        chicken, we look at the whole picture.  By looking at the
    39        whole -- you cannot grow an animal, you cannot raise an
    40        animal based on a single factor in terms of how much meat
    41        it is going to give you; you have to look at the whole
    42        picture.
    43
    44        We have always taken in the meat industry and the chicken
    45        industry and the research and the government, they look at
    46        the whole picture.  If you want to produce an animal,
    47        effectively, for whatever reasons you want to do it, for
    48        economic reasons, for a pet, you have to look at the whole
    49        picture.  The whole picture involves the animal itself,
    50        involves the environment, it involves the breeds, it 
    51        involves the resistance to diseases, their growth rate, 
    52        everything that will affect the animal. 
    53
    54        By those terms, and if you focus on those, if you miss one
    55        single factor that is important, such as disease resistant,
    56        for example, you will not be successful.  You have to look
    57        at the whole picture.  You have to look at the whole
    58        animal.  If an animal is not treated right because it is
    59        not fed right, it will not gain weight.  It will become
    60        sick, more susceptible to diseases.

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