Day 096 - 03 Mar 95 - Page 64
1 Q. What happens to the pigs if you do not try to prevent a
2 spread of pig flu?
3 A. That type of disease will go through the pigs and you
4 will have a high mortality loss. There will be obviously
5 the pain, the distress, all the things that Freedom Food
6 says they do not want will actually happen. So there will
7 be all the problems that happen to the pig that the Freedom
8 Food specifications says should not happen. There will be
9 stress, there will be pain with such illnesses, so one has
10 to have a remedy.
11
12 Q. So far as one can tell then, is it an unpleasant disease,
13 pig flu, for a pig?
14 A. I never enjoyed flu, sir, and I guess the pig will not
15 either.
16
17 Q. It actually kills some of them?
18 A. Yes, it can.
19
20 Q. The old ones as well as the young ones?
21 A. Yes, it can.
22
23 Q. Talking of the gloomy subject of pig mortality, you gave us
24 some figures. You said these were only rough percentages,
25 roughly 8 per cent in piglets?
26 A. Yes.
27
28 Q. For weaners .5 per cent roughly and finishers about the
29 same?
30 A. Yes.
31
32 Q. What are the principal causes of mortality in piglets?
33 A. Lying on the pigs.
34
35 Q. The sow lying on the pigs?
36 A. Yes.
37
38 Q. When were you last here you said that so far as could you
39 tell, I think you said it again today, the mortality rates
40 amongst indoor piglets are lower than they are in the
41 outdoor piglets. Is that right?
42 A. That is correct.
43
44 Q. Can you give us a rough proportion?
45 A. There will be approximately a 4 to 5 per cent
46 difference.
47
48 Q. So 4 to 5 per cent fewer piglets die in the indoor
49 accommodation?
50 A. Correct.
51
52 Q. Than they do outside?
53 A. Correct.
54
55 Q. Can I ask you, and these questions are somewhat random
56 Mr. Bowes ----
57
58 MR. MORRIS: Is it worth clarifying what that percentage means?
59 Does it mean 12 per cent mortality rate or 4 per cent on
60 top of the 8 per cent?
