Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 10
1 when necessary.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Does MAFF have a Chief Veterinary Officer
4 like the Department of Health has a Chief Medical Officer?
5 A. Yes, they do. His name is Keith Meldrum. He is the
6 Chief Veterinary Officer.
7
8 MR. RAMPTON: This may seem an obvious question, Dr. Pattison,
9 but I think I had better ask it. Do these MAFF people, or
10 any of them, have a specific responsibility for animal
11 welfare? I am not talking about implications for human
12 health or efficiency of production, anything of that kind,
13 I am not talking, as it were, about the industrial aspects
14 of what you do. I am talking about the welfare, the
15 well-being of the animals which you use. Does any of those
16 MAFF people have that sort of responsibility or remit?
17 A. They do have that remit. I would say that everybody in
18 MAFF has some remit for animal welfare. There are specific
19 veterinary officers who are part of the animal health and
20 veterinary group of the Ministry who have very specific
21 responsibility for welfare, and do a number of unannounced
22 visits up and down the country as part of their welfare
23 duties.
24
25 Q. From your contact with those people, is it your impression
26 or is your impression whether or not they are genuinely
27 concerned for the welfare of the animals that they see?
28 A. My impression is that they have a very genuine concern
29 for animal welfare.
30
31 Q. Can we turn while you have this document open backwards,
32 please, to the first page with an ordinary "2" on it which
33 is about six pages into the document towards the front; the
34 section headed "Method of Investigation"?
35 A. Yes.
36
37 Q. We there see set out in paragraph 7 the FAWC's version (and
38 I call it that, Dr. Pattison, because the RSPCA's version
39 is somewhat different, though not perhaps in substance)
40 sets out the Five Freedoms, do you see that?
41 A. Yes, I do.
42
43 Q. I will read them out, if I may? "First, freedom from
44 thirst, hunger and malnutrition; second, appropriate
45 comfort and shelter; third, prevention or rapid diagnosis
46 and treatment of injury and disease; fourth, freedom to
47 display most normal patterns of behaviour and, last,
48 freedom from fear". I am sorry about this, you should have
49 by your right elbow a yellow file with a Roman "IX", I
50 think it is, called "Rearing and slaughter". Do you have
51 that?
52 A. Yes, I have.
53
54 Q. Can you, please, turn in that to tab 7 where you will find,
55 or should find, a statement made by Mr. Ashley Bowes, a pig
56 person. Behind that if you look -- I am sorry it is not,
57 I think tabbed -- somewhere behind that statement you
58 should find a document entitled: "Freedom Food, the RSPCA
59 Welfare Standards for Pigs". Do you have that?
60 A. Yes, I have.
