Day 090 - 16 Feb 95 - Page 42
1 Q. So, prior to that poultry ----
2 A. We could have used poultry meat and bonemeal prior to
3 that.
4
5 Q. It would have been typical to do so?
6 A. Yes, that would have been normal practice.
7
8 Q. Have you still got the Farm Animal Welfare Council document
9 open?
10 A. Yes, I have.
11
12 Q. Have you got page 4, please? Sorry, just going on on page
13 3, under "nutrition" it says, "Knowledge of the nutrient
14 requirements of chickens has advanced and diets to exploit
15 the genetic potential for rapid growth can now be
16 formulated with great precision".
17
18 Is that how the diet for the Sun Valley Poultry recommended
19 diet is formulated?
20 A. The diets for Sun Valley are formulated on the basis
21 that there are basic requirements for chickens for protein,
22 fat, carbohydrates, vitamins; and there is a computer
23 system, a model system, in which you can put in raw
24 material specifications into the model and develop an
25 accurate formulation based on the analysis of the raw
26 materials. So, that is how we routinely do it.
27
28 Q. That is designed with rapid growth in mind?
29 A. Well, the rapid growth is a feature of the modern
30 hybrid broiler and obviously its nutritional requirements
31 do change with genetic changes. So, yes, we obviously have
32 to take into account that the bird is changing genetically
33 every year.
34
35 Q. Going on to the following page, under (iii), what growth
36 promoters are in the Sun Valley Poultry feed?
37 A. We do vary the growth promoters. The ones normally
38 used are Zinc Bacitracin or Virginia Mycin or Avo Parcin.
39
40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have read them before, but can you just
41 spell them, so I am quite clear?
42 A. Zinc bacitracin, so that is zinc B-A-C-I-T-R-A-C-I-N;
43 Virginia Mycin, so that is Virginia and M-Y-C-I-N, and Avo
44 Pacin; A-V-O P-A-R-C-I-N.
45
46 MS. STEEL: Are they the same ones that have been used for a
47 number of years?
48 A. Yes, they have not changed at all.
49
50 Q. Are they antibiotics?
51 A. They are antibiotic compounds in that they are derived
52 originally from microbial organisms.
53
54 Q. But their purpose is for growth promotion?
55 A. Their purpose is as growth promoters and they also help
56 to improve digestion; and that is part of the way that they
57 actually work.
58
59 Q. Are they fed to the chickens from their arrival until
60 leaving, or what?
