Day 309 - 03 Dec 96 - Page 49
1 MR. RAMPTON: That is just for general context. It has no
2 particular contribution to make to the actual animals
3 allegation which is sufficiently conveyed by "torture".
4 But at the background all the time throughout this leaflet
5 is the recurrent theme all of these malpractices -- be it
6 destroying the rainforests, wrongfully exploiting children,
7 selling poisonous food, selling unhealthy food, exploiting
8 their workers, and so on and so forth -- the recurrent
9 theme is that those are all done because profit, McDollars,
10 McGreedy, et cetera, profit is the dominant -- indeed, the
11 only -- motive so far as McDonald's are concerned.
12
13 It adds this to the sting of the animals section, that the
14 reader is going to be readier to believe that these
15 horrendous practices described in the leaflet under the
16 umbrella "torture" are likely to be going on, if he is in
17 the frame of mind -- as by this time he will be, when he
18 has read this leaflet -- that McDonald's really do not care
19 at all what happens to animals or to people, provided they
20 make their money. I think there are even some dollar signs
21 in the eyes of the man on the front page.
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There are. One can see -- one might be able
24 to see how in this context you cannot make your money
25 without -- it is sometimes called industrial farming.
26
27 MR. RAMPTON: Of course, that is right.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is industrial farming that give the
30 quantities which are required, at the speed at which they
31 have to be reared and slaughtered, which may be said to
32 lead to practices which are not as good as they should be.
33
34 MR. RAMPTON: Undoubtedly, that is right; and I have no doubt
35 your Lordship and I, at the end of this case, will be able
36 to write a dozen pamphlets on the most interesting topics,
37 but they would not look anything like this.
38
39 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well ....
40
41 MR. RAMPTON: One can certainly rail against, if one felt
42 strongly enough about it, the -----
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That may be the distinction between my
45 hypothetically brutal farmer killing his chickens. It all
46 sounds very brutal, but until two or three seconds before
47 the chicken dies it has been picked up quite gently by
48 someone who is quite well acquainted with it.
49
50 MR. RAMPTON: I know it is trite, but who is to say? I mean,
51 I am not an animal; I just do not know.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No.
54
55 MR. RAMPTON: Dr. Gregory said that several times, that, you
56 know, it is very, very difficult to tell what constitutes
57 animal suffering. Obviously, there is an infliction of
58 pain. Beyond that, it is very, very difficult.
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He went quite a long way in his -----
