Day 088 - 13 Feb 95 - Page 49
1 Q. The Freedom Food document, yes, and the very last
2 paragraph: "J.3.12: BSF Standard: Pig handlers and
3 slaughtermen must have completed an approved training
4 course". Do your people complete approved training
5 courses?
6 A. Yes, they do. If I may just explain?
7
8 Q. Please?
9 A. How that is accomplished. We have a training officer
10 and every person that works in our plant has to go through
11 a training procedure and hygiene procedure of basic hygiene
12 and he is also responsible for the welfare of the animals,
13 but he is a training officer so the person appointed in the
14 lairage has to be approved and certificated by our training
15 officer. Likewise, our people handle the pigs at the
16 stunning end and his training was done at the MLC Bristol
17 University or Meat Research Institute courses which they
18 have run and we actually had our two men. Our
19 slaughterhouse manager went also and they were actually on
20 the first course and both passed.
21
22 Q. So does that mean that these personnel are not, in fact,
23 trained by the training courses operated by the Humane
24 Slaughter Association?
25 A. No, but the Humane Slaughter Association actually is
26 involved with the MLC and Bristol and actually
27 documentation that is issued from that course does have
28 input from the Humane Slaughter Association.
29
30 Q. Is your company a member of the Humane Slaughter
31 Association?
32 A. No, we are not.
33
34 Q. Do you have any contact with the Humane Slaughter
35 Association?
36 A. Yes, we do. We have quite close contact. They have
37 used us for a number of years because they have known that
38 we have been looking at different systems, and we have
39 worked quite closely with them in development, at times our
40 technical team have, and we have every respect for what
41 they do.
42
43 Q. Mr. Bowes, thank you. Please remain there for
44 cross-examination.
45
46
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Before Ms. Steel or Mr. Morris ask you
49 questions, Mr. Bowes, you said that the stun and stick line
50 of 18 seconds did not concern you under your circumstances
51 of stunning. What did you mean by that?
52 A. If you recall, sir, I did explain how we believed that
53 our pigs are dead.
54
55 Q. I thought you meant that but I wanted to check?
56 A. And I believe that Dr. Gregory confirmed that.
57
58 Q. On page 16, just after the part Mr. Rampton referred you
59 to, it said: "In the case of electro narcosis, the minimum
60 route means square current level during stunning must be
