Day 067 - 15 Dec 94 - Page 53


     
     1        it is very difficult to measure that.  If somebody when
     2        they read that, and I had a lot of conversations, "What
     3        does that mean?" it is a very subjective measure, and that
     4        is the kind of thing we have to look for.  That is why we
     5        do not have every single detail in our specification,
     6        because it was not possible to measure everything.  What we
     7        do care, what McDonald's care, is about the welfare of the
     8        animal.  That is what we look for.  We do not look for 50
     9        minutes time where it could be they are exposed to a
    10        noise.  We look at the entire life-span of the animal to
    11        give us an indication of how well that animal is treated,
    12        how well that animal is fed.
    13
    14   MR. MORRIS:  All these questions, these were the only questions
    15        you sent out, are they not?  There was no second sheet?
    16        A.  That is correct.
    17
    18   Q.   All these are about slaughter conditions, are they not?
    19        They are not about rearing conditions?
    20        A.  That is correct.  Let me add that there is a reason for
    21        that.  We have no control over what animals go into the
    22        slaughterhouse.  It is beyond our control.  So, for that
    23        reason we cannot have that questionnaire and go and ask
    24        every farmer in the world that can potentially supply
    25        McDonald's.  It is beyond our control.
    26
    27   Q.   You could have put a question in, could you not, saying,
    28        "Does the slaughterhouse monitor its suppliers to check
    29        the welfare conditions the animals"?
    30        A.  For the most parts around the world they do not.  They
    31        are not legally responsible for.  It is entirely up to
    32        them.  There are some that will; some that will not.  I do
    33        not see the use of adding that into our questions.  I want
    34        the people to focus on some key questions.
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It is up to the slaughterhouse, the abattoir
    37        operator which cattle it buys, for instance, if we stay on
    38        cattle for the moment, in order to slaughter them in its
    39        abattoir or abattoirs in order to sell the meat to
    40        processors?
    41        A.  That would depend.  There are some slaughterhouses in
    42        many places, many countries, which are operated by a
    43        co-operative, by a group of farmers, and there are
    44        agreements where they slaughter their animals.  In
    45        addition, they slaughter some other animals.  So sometimes
    46        they do have that control and sometimes they do not have
    47        that control.
    48
    49   Q.   It is just I was making the assumption, so correct if I am
    50        wrong, that where you have a slaughterhouse which is 
    51        independent of the farm or farms, in other words, it is an 
    52        independent operation in its own right, it is presumably in 
    53        the abattoir's interest to buy animals which are in good
    54        condition because the meat is going to be of a better
    55        quality and they will get a better price for it.  Is that a
    56        correct assumption or not?
    57        A.  It is a correct assumption if we look in theory.  In
    58        practice, what happens is that the slaughterhouses need to
    59        fulfil their needs; they need to run their operation.
    60

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