Day 097 - 06 Mar 95 - Page 44


     
     1
     2   Q.   Does the company own any farms of its own?
     3        A.  It does, yes.
     4
     5   Q.   Roughly what proportion of its meat comes from its own
     6        farms?
     7        A.  Again it is something that is seasonably variable.  We
     8        tend to use the farms, our own farms, as a kind of buffer
     9        for when markets or other farms are in short supply.
    10
    11   Q.   So as a top up, really; is that right?
    12        A.  Yes.
    13
    14   Q.   Where needed?
    15        A.  Yes.
    16
    17   Q.   Is there any way in which you have any system or method you
    18        have of being able to trace the origins of the cattle that
    19        you buy in not those from your own farms?
    20        A.  Yes, we can trace the origin of any animal to its farm
    21        of origin.
    22
    23   Q.   How do you do that?
    24        A.  Every animal has an ear tag.  When the carcass or side
    25        is weighed off at the end of the slaughter line, the number
    26        of this tag is punched into a computer which is linked to
    27        a weighing scale and various information about that side
    28        will come out of the scale on a printed tag and tell the
    29        weight, the grade, this type of thing, about the carcass.
    30        Then there is a five figure number on there which, if
    31        needed, we can use to trace back to the farm of original
    32        directly or if it is come from a market we can find the lot
    33        number of that animal and then by contacting the market via
    34        the lot number find the farm of origin.
    35
    36   Q.   I see.  How long has that system been in operation?
    37        A.  The system that is computer linked to the scale has
    38        been in operation for, I would say, about four years.
    39
    40   Q.   Yes.  Before that, was it possible to trace animals?
    41        A.  There was a manual system which I believe did the same
    42        thing.
    43
    44   Q.   There was?
    45        A.  Yes.
    46
    47   Q.   So suppose you had a cow arrive, let us say, on a
    48        contractor's truck which looked unhealthy or looked as
    49        though it been injured or badly treated, what would your
    50        company do about that? 
    51        A.  Well, we have an Animal Welfare Officer, who sort of 
    52        inspects cattle coming in but, moreover, there are actually 
    53        official bodies there, veterinarians and meat inspectors,
    54        who inspect every single animal as it arrives.
    55
    56   Q.   You said you had an Animal Welfare Officer, is that a
    57        full-time job?
    58        A.  No.
    59
    60   Q.   What else does that person do?

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