Day 290 - 30 Oct 96 - Page 17
1 kind of, mass production system. The disease and lack of
2 individual treatment, again I would not say that is
3 necessarily deliberate. I think that is inevitable
4 cruelty. It is cruel and inevitable. It is an inevitable
5 result of the policies of that kind of system. I would say
6 that leg weaknesses are cruel and an inevitable result of a
7 deliberate policy. So that the environment/index.html">litter conditions are cruel
8 and the resulting hock burns or other problems are cruel,
9 and an inevitable result of a deliberate policy.
10
11 I think the genetic manipulation of the animals is cruel in
12 a different way, and it is unethical. If I can point out
13 in the fact sheet, it says "animals born and bred", and
14 that may just be a general colloquial term for rearing the
15 animal, but also there is an implication about born and
16 bred specifically for McDonald's use, this, kind of,
17 manipulation of the genetics. If I just continue, the
18 catching and the resultant fear and damage injuries to
19 birds is cruel, and it is an inevitable result of a
20 deliberate policy in terms of speed and economics.
21 Economics means they have too few staff and, in fact, they
22 even were getting rid of staff rather than increasing the
23 amount of staffing, we heard. And economics, just the
24 sheer numbers. And the little time that they are given.
25
26 So the transportation of the birds is cruel, and the
27 general suffering, heat stress and injuries and deaths as a
28 result is an inevitable result of such a system. Again, it
29 is as a result of a deliberate policy, a deliberate policy
30 to have X number of birds crammed into X kind of cages,
31 drawers. I say in the slaughter house the pre-killing line
32 suffering -- animals, chickens, being held upside down,
33 moving fast on a line -- this suffering on that line is the
34 inevitable result of a deliberate policy of fast and mass
35 production. The actual killing of the birds, including the
36 stunning, as we have heard in detail -- we will not go into
37 that -- again is cruel. Actually, I am not sure if I said
38 the transport is cruel and the catching is cruel, but the
39 pre-killing line is cruel and the killing itself, including
40 stunning, is cruel, and it is an inevitable result of a
41 deliberate policy. If I can say a few other points?
42
43 MR JUSTICE BELL: Yes. (Pause) Do not, whatever you do, repeat
44 anything that Ms. Steel has said.
45
46 MR. MORRIS: No, I accept everything that she has said without
47 any reservations.
48
49 This is a general point on animals. If you look at
50 Mr. Rampton's opening speech where he talks about the
51 conditions that animals are held in. He does not give any
52 indication of McDonald's concern for animal welfare, purely
53 that some economic considerations may result in, he says, a
54 welfare implication, because, you know, bruises on a bird
55 might affect the meat quality. We would say that may or
56 may not be the case. The point is the birds have a right
57 not to be bruised in any event - or mistreated or treated
58 cruelly, whatever, suffering injuries, have disease. And
59 there was no recognition at all of any rights for the
60 animals in that opening speech.
