Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 61


     
     1        birds.
 
     2   Q.   Right.
              A.  So that is the only available information that there
     3        is for catching damage in some detail.
 
     4   Q.   So you do not have a great deal of information, but it
              would be fair to say -----
     5        A.  This is the best information that we have.
 
     6   Q.   It would be fair to say that the dead on arrivals are not
              the end of the story?
     7        A.  No, there are some extras, yes.
 
     8   Q.   Did you say when the Anglia Autoflow system was brought
              in, do you know that?
     9        A.  When?
 
    10   Q.   Yes.
              A.  I do not know.  It might have been the early 80s.
    11        I am guessing.
 
    12   Q.   At Sun Valley Poultry.
              A.  Hold on -- it would be mid to late -- it would be late
    13        80s, it might be 1987, 1988 -- check with Mark Pattison;
              it would be that sort of period, though, as a guess.
    14
         Q.   What are your views on the loading procedure?  Do you
    15        think that it is humane?
              A.  It is not humane for those birds that get obvious
    16        damage like this.  I think it is highly likely that those
              birds experience pain, if not a profound sense of shock.
    17        So I think one can safely say it is definitely
              inhumane for those.
    18
         Q.   What about in terms of being held upside-down by one leg?
    19        A.  I think any handling procedure involving man and
              birds, just picking them even by the body or by the wings
    20        or by the legs, is going to be stressful for the bird.
 
    21   Q.   Is it more stressful for them to be picked up upside-down
              by one leg?
    22        A.  No systematic study has examined this. It is a good
              question.  No systematic study has been done to examine
    23        that, so I cannot give you a scientific answer.
 
    24   Q.   What about in terms of dropping them into trays
              upside-down?
    25        A.  I do not wish to be facetious, what height are you
              dropping them from? 
    26 
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If you can imagine the loading system, that 
    27        is what you are thinking about?
 
    28   MS. STEEL:   Yes.
              A.  Quite often the birds are picked up.  If the drawer is
    29        low down, then you just place them.  If they are high up,
              quite often you need to accelerate slightly to bring them
    30        up and then put them down.
 

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