Day 088 - 13 Feb 95 - Page 42


     
     1        was largely based upon what the RSPCA saw at his
     2        establishment, why then one could confidently say that so
     3        far as the leading body of animal welfare people in this
     4        country is concerned, he has the stamp of approval.
     5
     6   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I understand that but he was being asked what
     7        they had said about it, in effect.
     8
     9   MR. RAMPTON:  I leave out -- I did not actually ask him, what I
    10        did ask him  -----
    11
    12   MS. STEEL:  I thought official bodies had no status in this
    13        court.
    14
    15   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is a silly remark, quite frankly.
    16
    17   MS. STEEL:  But it is a fact.
    18
    19   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  From time to time Mr. Morris, particularly,
    20        has prayed-in-aid official reports, or it has been said on
    21        one side or another that the mere fact that something is
    22        "official", in inverted commas, does not matter and I just
    23        have to weigh everything for whatever value I think I can
    24        get from it.
    25
    26   MR. RAMPTON (To the witness):  Let me ask it another way,
    27        Mr. Bowes.  You have spent a lifetime in pigs, yes?
    28        A.  That is correct, sir.
    29
    30   Q.   Have you read this document?
    31        A.  Yes, sir.
    32
    33   Q.   Do you think that from the point of view of the animal's
    34        welfare this document provides an adequate standard?
    35        A.  Yes, sir.
    36
    37   Q.   Is it a good standard of animal welfare husbandry that is
    38        set out here?
    39        A.  Very good, sir, and may I add that we are continually
    40        trying to improve in the areas that modern technology can
    41        help to improve.
    42
    43   Q.   Before you started consultations with the RSPCA about this
    44        code, had the standards which you have described in this
    45        court been in place in your business?
    46        A.  Yes, sir.
    47
    48   Q.   For how long?
    49        A.  Since, well, since 198 -- since 1986 or 7 we have been
    50        marketing these self-same pigs as Norfolk free range pork 
    51        in Tesco's stores, and prior to that, outdoor pig 
    52        production and straw production -- I just go back 
    53        generations in our family.
    54
    55   Q.   Do you have respect for the RSPCA's animal welfare
    56        standards?
    57        A.  Yes, we do, sir.
    58
    59   Q.   Are you anxious -- I say "anxious" to comply, you already
    60        were -- to maintain compliance with the standards laid down

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