Day 067 - 15 Dec 94 - Page 40
1 A. That is correct.
2
3 MS. STEEL: The Plaintiffs appear to be putting quite a lot of
4 reliance on this Humane Slaughter Act. Whilst we were
5 given a copy of some US documents about the hygiene
6 regulations, we have never been given a copy of this Humane
7 Slaughter Act. I feel that it ought to be disclosed by the
8 Plaintiffs otherwise they should not be able to place any
9 reliance on it whatsoever.
10
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not think that is strictly correct
12 because it is a matter of law. If there is any challenge
13 as to what the law is, then it normally has to be evidence
14 of a specific kind. I think this may be rather different
15 in that it is -----
16
17 MR. RAMPTON: I do not want to interrupt your Lordship. I have
18 been trying for some considerable time to get an actual
19 copy of the Act. I think what I am now looking at, which
20 I was given 10 minutes ago, is actually both a copy of the
21 Act of 1958 and of a material amendment of 1978, 20 years
22 later. I have not read it all yet, but I am quite content
23 to hand copies over now to the Defendants. I do not
24 believe that we have an obligation of discovery in relation
25 to what is essentially -----
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, I was going to go on to say this may be
28 rather different because it could be argued that it has
29 been, as it were, brought into the evidence by reference to
30 it, in effect, saying: "That is our policy".
31
32 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. Anyhow here it is, as far as I can tell. It
33 is a pretty rotten copy. It is legible. This, in fact, is
34 a Senate report on a proposed amendment to the 1958 Act,
35 but it does contain within it the text of the Humane
36 Slaughter Act 1958.
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL (To the witness): Does your department back in
39 Illinois have a copy of the Act in it?
40 A. I do not know.
41
42 Q. You do not know?
43 A. No.
44
45 MR. RAMPTON: I suspect, though I do not know, this has come off
46 Barlow Lyde & Gilbert's library, I do not know. It may be
47 best if I hand up copies for the moment of what I have.
48
49 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Please sit down for the moment, Dr. Gomez
50 Gonzalez.
51
52 MR. RAMPTON: I think the text of 1958 Act begins on the page
53 which is numbered 13 on the top, which is about the sixth
54 page in. The amendment comes at the end. (Pause).
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Look, I think we should move on. What I have
57 read in there would appear to indicate to me that the
58 Humane Slaughter Act 1958 and the methods of Humane
59 Slaughter Act 1978 apply to humane slaughter and handling
60 of animals for slaughter which I would have thought was
