Day 290 - 30 Oct 96 - Page 18
1
2 If I can just add about the five freedoms, which we would
3 say do not go far enough because they are only some kind of
4 protection in a commercial environment, but if you look at
5 what Dr. Gregory said on day 19 at bottom of page 3, he
6 says, five freedoms are "not an extremist view," and that
7 they are capable of being available in a commercial
8 setting. So they really are the minimum, recognising the
9 rights of the company which we would not necessarily
10 recognise.
11
12 So, really, if you look at the life of chickens, whether
13 they are battery chickens, rearers or broilers, it is clear
14 that it is non-stop cruelty from even before they are out
15 of the egg some of them get killed, but from the egg
16 onwards until their untimely death, even during the process
17 of death, it is systematic, inevitable, non-stop cruelty.
18 I just want to see if I have got anything else I wanted to
19 say on that. (Pause)
20
21 I think the fact that Mr. Rampton failed to question our
22 witnesses on this issue on any substantive matter,
23 including our experts, is a recognition that McDonald's
24 have got no case whatsoever.
25
26 The last point I have to make, and I had a burning desire
27 to get up a bit earlier on but I restrained myself, was
28 about whether suffering of animals is acceptable to the
29 public because the majority of them are prepared to eat
30 them. I think that people do not actually know that
31 animals suffer, that the views that people have are -----
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Forget that, because I am quite clear that
34 the article goes beyond the meaning which Ms. Steel put
35 forward. The fact is the real issues stay the same.
36
37 MR. MORRIS: It is a, sort of, difficult area to make any
38 submission on.
39
40 MR JUSTICE BELL: I don't think you need to because it is going
41 to be entirely academic.
42
43 MR. MORRIS: I mean, it does go to the issue of not having a
44 jury. It is very hard to-----
45
46 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It does not go to that issue, because that
47 is out of the way and has been for over two years.
48
49 MR. MORRIS: I know, but it is very difficult, impossible in
50 fact, to get into the public mind and that is the purpose
51 for having a jury. I think we should be very careful in
52 presupposing that because something is normal in our
53 society it is therefore acceptable, because people, when
54 they are given an opportunity to think about it -----
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am going to stop you there, Mr. Morris. It
57 is not relevant to something which is still an effective
58 issue in the case.
59
60 MR. MORRIS: We will say that normality is unacceptable.
