Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 57
1 A. That is correct.
2
3 Q. And then rest of it through its head?
4 A. Yes.
5
6 Q. Which is by this time, or should be, in the water?
7 A. That is correct.
8
9 Q. Which, in turn, connects up with the grid on the bottom of
10 the bath?
11 A. Yes.
12
13 Q. Does the grid, I think you just said it, but I did not hear
14 the whole answer, run the whole length of bath?
15 A. It does.
16
17 Q. Does it follow from that that it does not matter from the
18 point of view of stun at which point the bird hits the
19 water?
20 A. No. Obviously the main thing is to guide the head in
21 the most effective way into the water where the current is.
22
23 Q. So does it get to water at the beginning of the bath?
24 A. Yes, it does.
25
26 Q. Is there any way under this system in which a bird could by
27 accident get a pre- stunned shock?
28 A. Well, we have found using this equipment that we have
29 virtually eliminated the problem of pre-stunning shocks
30 which used to be a big problem in the old design of
31 stunning baths.
32
33 Q. Is there any method by which you can improve the
34 conductivity of the bird itself before stunning?
35 A. We spray water above the birds, just a fine mist of
36 water on to the legs of the birds, which wets them and
37 improves conductivity and then salt solution is added to
38 the water in the bath to help with conductivity.
39
40 Q. Do some of the birds miss the bath altogether?
41 A. If a bird lifts its head, occasional birds will miss
42 the stunning bath altogether.
43
44 Q. What, roughly speaking, is the frequency of that occurrence
45 in terms of percentages?
46 A. It probably happens, again I cannot be sure, but it
47 probably happens every 300 or 400 birds you will get one
48 that will raise its head.
49
50 Q. Does this mean that 1 in 300 or 400 birds gets to the knife
51 while it is still conscious?
52 A. Yes, it does.
53
54 Q. What is the reason why you use a lower current than is
55 recommended by MAFF?
56 A. We believe that the current that is recommended by MAFF
57 first of all it is based on an AC current and, therefore, a
58 different electrical characteristic. We believe that the
59 machine we have effectively makes the birds unconscious
60 which is what our legal obligation is under the Slaughter
