Day 288 - 28 Oct 96 - Page 03


     
     1        say that is.  I mean, do you agree with the "utterly
     2        indifferent" which Mr. Rampton put forward, or would you
     3        contend that it is something like McDonald's condone some
     4        cruel and inhumane practices in the rearing and
     5        slaughtering of what, for shorthand, we will call their
     6        animals?
     7
     8   MS. STEEL:   Right.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   I think essentially one has to think what it
    11        means, and then you can think of the ramifications.  The
    12        reason I ask you to do that is it occurs to me it may be
    13        more difficult to prove indifference than it may be to
    14        prove something like humane and cruel practices, because
    15        people can be cruel without being utterly indifferent.
    16        Maybe that is why Mr. Rampton drafted it in that way, I do
    17        not know.  But that is the sort of thing at some stage, I
    18        just want you to say something on.
    19
    20   MS. STEEL:   I am ready to say something about that.  But can I
    21        just say that Caseview has stopped working.  Mr. Rampton
    22        seems to have the same problem.
    23
    24   MR. RAMPTON:   I have a pen and piece of paper, my Lord.  I do
    25        not need Caseview for a moment.
    26
    27                         (Short Adjournment)
    28
    29   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Yes?
    30
    31   MS. STEEL:   Obviously there are various facts set out in the
    32        animals section of the fact sheet, and I will go through
    33        those, but we contend that the overall sting of the section
    34        about animals is that animals are suffering as a result of
    35        the methods used to rear and slaughter them and that
    36        McDonald's are responsible for that suffering, for the
    37        animals that are used in their products.
    38
    39        We do not accept the Plaintiffs' pleaded meaning that the
    40        overall sting of this section of the leaflet is that
    41        McDonald's are utterly indifferent to the welfare of the
    42        animals which are used to produce their food.  There is
    43        nothing stated in the fact sheet about McDonald's state of
    44        mind towards the animals; rather there are just facts set
    45        out relating to the methods of rearing and slaughter.
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Yes.
    48
    49   MS. STEEL:   I mean, as it happens, we do believe that
    50        McDonald's are utterly indifferent to the welfare of the 
    51        animals that are reared to make the meat for their products 
    52        and we believe that there has been ample evidence during 
    53        the course of this trial to prove that.  However, we do not
    54        think that because that evidence has been heard that means
    55        that the meaning alleged by the Plaintiffs should be
    56        imputed into the fact sheet.
    57
    58        If I can also say that we do not accept that the Plaintiffs
    59        have set out the facts correctly in their Statement of
    60        Claim either.  I am going to go through the entire animal

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