Day 090 - 16 Feb 95 - Page 24
1 controlled by Regulation as soon as possible". You were
2 involved in the preparation of this document?
3 A. Yes, I was.
4
5 Q. Were you pushing for more lax stocking densities?
6 A. No, I definitely was not.
7
8 Q. So were you happy with this 34 kilograms per metre squared?
9 A. The Committee produces a report which is a consensus
10 view of all the people sitting on that Committee. It does
11 not mean to say that everybody on the Committee agrees with
12 every statement made in a report. What in the end of the
13 day the report does, it reflects the views of the Committee
14 overall and there will be particular areas, perhaps, which
15 individuals would not always agree with each other on.
16
17 Q. So you disagreed on this issue?
18 A. As I say, I think 34 kilos is a good aim across the
19 country based on average housing facilities and I do not
20 see any harm in that recommendation.
21
22 Q. If it became law you would be breaking the law at Sun
23 Valley Poultry, would you not?
24 A. If it became law, then we would be prepared to look at
25 it and make adjustments as required.
26
27 Q. But while there are no sanctions you are quite happy for
28 the birds to be more crowded than what is recommended here?
29 A. The amount by which we are over that is fairly small.
30 It would not require a great deal of adjustment. There
31 would be many houses anyway which will be stocked at that
32 level and the figure I gave you yesterday was simply an
33 average for the more modern facilities.
34
35 Q. So why not have less birds per shed then? Why not adhere
36 to this recommendation?
37 A. Well, I think the practice that we use, as I say,
38 I feel comfortable that the welfare, the requirements of
39 birds are being met. We have done many trials at much
40 lower stocking densities than that to see if there is any
41 difference in the performance or the behaviour of the birds
42 or the mortality, and we have not been able to demonstrate
43 to ourselves any great benefits from reducing that, that
44 level. This is why we have stayed with the status quo at
45 the moment.
46
47 Q. On the same page at (b) it says that: "Any bird wishing to
48 move from a crowded area to a more open space should be
49 able to do so"?
50 A. Yes.
51
52 Q. Now towards the end they are not able to do that, are they?
53 A. The last three or four days, may be not.
54
55 Q. Right. So why not reduce the stocking density and allow
56 them to be able to have that bit more space?
57 A. As I have just said, the reasons that we have not done
58 that are -- there are many reasons, including behaviour,
59 mortality, economics, they all come into the factor.
60
