Day 288 - 28 Oct 96 - Page 31


     
     1        include chicks that were still alive in the eggs, and
     2        obviously we would consider that to be cruel.  That was day
     3        90, page 12, line 40.  He said that Sun Valley kills 200 to
     4        300 unwanted chicks each day by gassing them with carbon
     5        dioxide in a sealed 50 gallon drum about the size of a
     6        water tub.  He said about a hundred chicks go in at a time
     7        and the gassing takes 40 to 45 seconds.  We did hear
     8        evidence ----
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just pause a moment.  (Pause)  Did you say 40
    11        to 45?
    12
    13   MS. STEEL:   30 to 45 seconds.  I have three references -- no,
    14        two references for the section about gassing the chicks,
    15        and that is day 89, page 25, line 3, and day 90, page 51,
    16        line 29.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Then you have got the ones which go in last
    19        falling on top of the others?
    20
    21   MS. STEEL:   Yes.  I mean, obviously, well, we heard evidence
    22        I think from Dr. Gregory as well as Clare Druce, about the
    23        cruelty of that process.  Unfortunately, I have not got the
    24        reference for Dr. Gregory.
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do not worry, I will find that.
    27
    28   MS. STEEL:   We would say that that entire process is indicative
    29        of the mentality of Sun Valley, that these chicks are not
    30        considered to be living beings, they are just considered as
    31        production machines, effectively, which can be disposed of
    32        as and when they are no longer wanted.
    33
    34        We heard about how the broiler breeders had to have their
    35        food restricted because basically they are bred for putting
    36        on weight.  However, the chickens cannot reproduce at the
    37        six or seven weeks old that they would normally be
    38        slaughtered at, so they have to be kept alive for longer in
    39        order to breed and so that they can breed successfully they
    40        have to have their food restricted, and it is restricted to
    41        quite a severe extent, and that was heavily criticised by
    42        Clare Druce when she gave evidence.
    43
    44        The reference for Dr. Patteson talking about restricted
    45        rations I think is day 89, page 22, line 33.  He said
    46        because they are all broiler strains they do have the
    47        potential for putting on weight and also for getting fat.
    48        He claimed that there were not any welfare implications in
    49        restricting the food and said, "I think it is equally cruel
    50        to overfeed an animal if it has the potential to get fat", 
    51        which we would agree, it is equally cruel, but the reason 
    52        it is cruel is because they are bred to get fat fast.  And 
    53        obviously that is what happens to the chickens in the
    54        normal broiler sheds, not the breeders; they are
    55        effectively overfed in order to get them fattened at a
    56        faster rate.
    57
    58        The chicks are transported to the broiler units when they
    59        are only a few hours old, and when they arrive they are
    60        routinely given antibiotics in their feed for the first

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