Day 098 - 07 Mar 95 - Page 49
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The one thing you should not feel anxious
2 about is filling time. We can always -- everyone in court
3 can use any unscheduled non-court time they get.
4
5 MR. MORRIS: I cannot remember whether you said, but I think you
6 said that you are back to using your own trucks for
7 transport for animals to the plant; is that correct?
8 A. We are back to it, did you say?
9
10 Q. No, sorry, when animals get transported to your plant?
11 A. Yes.
12
13 Q. You use your own trucks for the markets, is that correct,
14 but not for the farms?
15 A. I think that is general practice, that we reduce --
16 yes, that we firstly use them for the things we are
17 collecting from market and, secondly, the other point is
18 that farmers very often bring in their own cattle on their
19 own trucks or on contract.
20
21 Q. Are your trucks kind of standard?
22 A. Yes.
23
24 Q. How many trucks do you have?
25 A. I do not know.
26
27 Q. Are the markets that you get animals from from all over the
28 country?
29 A. Yes.
30
31 Q. So what would be the furthest one away? Would you go all
32 the way to Cornwall, if necessary?
33 A. Yes.
34
35 Q. So do you know what the percentage of animals that die in
36 transit are, approximately?
37 A. I do not know, to be honest, but I would think it is
38 very small.
39
40 Q. When you say "very small" what are we talking about, one
41 per cent or two per cent?
42 A. I would say I do not know. All I can tell you is that
43 it is a very, very small amount.
44
45 Q. What about the percentage that are sick or disabled on
46 arrival -- you mentioned that before -- do you know that?
47 A. No, I mean these things kept and recorded by the
48 veterinary surgeon or the meat inspection staff.
49
50 Q. No-one has ever reported that to you?
51 A. It is not my field, really.
52
53 Q. Would that not worry you in terms of meat quality, if there
54 were injuries being sustained or sickness being sustained
55 in transport?
56 A. Yes, it would. I mean, if there was a large number of
57 animals arriving in that condition, yes.
58
59 Q. Behind your statement you included -- you do not have to go
60 to it if you do not want to -- the Welfare of Red Meat
