Day 097 - 06 Mar 95 - Page 52
1 suitable and safe". Do you think that is important or not?
2 A. Certainly, yes.
3
4 Q. Then the third paragraph it says -- I am right about the
5 hinny, yes -- can you remind me which way round the mule
6 is; it does not matter -- the third paragraph says:
7 "Provide animals which are kept in the lairage overnight
8 with an adequate quantity of suitable bedding. (Bedding is
9 not required on slats.)" Do you use slats at all at
10 Midland Meat Packers?
11 A. Not in our lairages, no.
12
13 Q. Then there are various requirements for the lairage of
14 animals at slaughter. At the top of the next column after
15 the incomplete sentence it says: "Pen separately animals
16 which might injure each other or which are vulnerable to
17 injury from others". Do you know what sort of situation
18 they are referring to there?
19 A. Yes, I think so. We generally try to keep animals
20 which are coming in in their various peer groups which is
21 generally believed to reduce stress on the animal.
22
23 Q. Do you mean animals which have, as it were, arrived
24 together?
25 A. From the same farm, yes.
26
27 Q. So they know each other?
28 A. Yes.
29
30 Q. Do they react adversely to being suddenly plonked in
31 amongst a whole lot of strangers, cattle?
32 A. Not that I am aware of immediately, but it is generally
33 believed that keeping them in peer groups is better so that
34 is what we try to do.
35
36 Q. You know, do you not, that the law requires that cattle
37 must be stunned singularly?
38 A. Yes.
39
40 Q. Do you have a view about whether that is actually in the
41 interests of the animal or not?
42 A. I think that if they are stunned singularly they
43 certainly lead to better effectiveness of stunning, yes.
44
45 Q. But so far as the animal's "peace of mind", if we may call
46 it that (and I put those words in inverted commas), do you
47 have a view about that?
48 A. I have never seen cattle stunned more than singularly,
49 if you like, so I just do not know.
50
51 Q. Then it says they must have access to clean water. You
52 have dealt with that. It says in the next paragraph,
53 second sentence: "Food is not required within 12 hours of
54 slaughter". So, if it arrives at 6 o'clock in the morning
55 and it is due to be slaughtered at 6 o'clock in the
56 evening, apparently, you are not advised that you have to
57 give it water; is that right?
58 A. It says "food" here, I do not know about water.
59
60 Q. I am so sorry, food, you are quite right. Food, is that
