Day 091 - 17 Feb 95 - Page 50


     
     1        of our farms after it became a major problem in this
     2        country in 1989.
     3
     4   MR. MORRIS:  We cannot remember if we asked you about this
     5        before?
     6        A.  Yes.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You did, a number of questions.
     9
    10   MS. STEEL:  With ascites, that is not only a problem during
    11        transport of poultry, is it?
    12        A.  No, it can cause mortality of birds on the farm.
    13
    14   Q.   When birds get that, their lungs become congested and the
    15        abdomen distended with fluid; is that right?
    16        A.  That is correct.
    17
    18   Q.   That is caused by the unnaturally high oxygen demand caused
    19        by the rapid growth of modern broilers combined with
    20        inadequate lung capillaries?
    21        A.  That is certainly partly right.  The oxygen tension is
    22        very important to -- the amount of oxygen in the sheds is
    23        very important.  It is a disease that was originally found
    24        to occur in birds particularly at high altitude where the
    25        oxygen tension was very low.
    26
    27   Q.   But that would not be something that would apply in this
    28        country?
    29        A.  No, it does not.
    30
    31   Q.   What percentage of birds are affected by that at Sun
    32        Valley?
    33        A.  Well, it is one of the major causes of mortality, and
    34        we would expect to lose in our sample of mortality, it
    35        would probably account for 10 or 15 per cent of the total
    36        deaths.
    37
    38   Q.   So what is that in terms of the number of birds per shed or
    39        what-have-you?
    40        A.  Well, if you have, say you had six per cent mortality
    41        and you were losing, say, one-and-a-half per cent from
    42        ascites -----
    43
    44   Q.   That would be about standard, would it?
    45        A.  That would be about the normal, yes.
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Your arithmetic does not ---
    48
    49   MR. MORRIS:  Just under one per cent.
    50 
    51   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  -- I mean if it is 12.5 per cent, it would be 
    52        one-eighth of the six per cent, would it not? 
    53        A.  Yes.
    54
    55   Q.   Which is halfway between your 10 and 15.
    56
    57   MS. STEEL:   Do all birds that suffer from that actually die or
    58        do they survive, some of them survive?
    59        A.  They generally die from ascites.  The only thing,
    60        obviously, is that if birds die in transit from ascites,

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