Day 090 - 16 Feb 95 - Page 26
1 Q. The Brazilian stocking density, you said eight birds per
2 square metre, why do you not have that stocking density
3 here?
4 A. Because it would be totally uneconomic, given the
5 design of the houses that we have and totally unrealistic
6 in economic terms.
7
8 Q. So that is for economic reasons. Do you feel that Sun
9 Valley is above the MAFF recommendations?
10 A. I do not believe that Sun Valley or anybody else should
11 necessarily be above the recommendations. I think each
12 organisation has to assess its capabilities.
13
14 Q. So you can take or leave them?
15 A. These recommendations we by and large comply with and,
16 as I say, when you have a committee of people you do not
17 necessarily always get a consensus. You get a consensus
18 report, but you do not always have individual agreement on
19 what is right and what is wrong. There is no scientific
20 evidence which suggests that this figure is right. It is
21 merely a guideline.
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It may not make any difference to Ms. Steel's
24 point at the end of the day, but she has referred to this
25 as the MAFF recommendation, whereas I understand that it is
26 the ----
27
28 MS. STEEL: It is published by the MAFF, it says on the back.
29
30 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, I appreciate that -- that it is the Farm
31 Animal Welfare Council recommendation to MAFF?
32 A. That is correct.
33
34 Q. Which, as Ms. Steel has pointed out, MAFF published?
35 A. Yes.
36
37 Q. Do MAFF then go on to make recommendations or is the way
38 they, effectively, do that to publish the recommendations
39 made to them?
40 A. As I understand it, the Farm Animal Welfare Council
41 Report is sent to government ministers, Minister of
42 Agriculture, and then the MAFF respond to that report in a
43 way where they will say whether they are going to take up
44 recommendations from that report; some they will accept and
45 others they may say require further research before they
46 can implement them.
47
48 Q. What are the consequences, if their decision is of the
49 former kind, that they accept the recommendations? Do they
50 then publish a report such as this, or this is short of
51 legislation?
52 A. Yes. This is not a legislative document.
53
54 Q. No, no. They find themselves in a situation where, for
55 whatever reason, they are not prepared to legislate, that
56 is, introduce a new Act of Parliament or regulations under
57 powers in an existing Act of Parliament, but, nevertheless,
58 they accept the FAWC recommendation. What do they do
59 next? Do they publish FAWC's recommendations or do they
60 bring out circulars or recommendations of their own or
