Day 103 - 14 Mar 95 - Page 53


     
     1
     2   MS. STEEL:   From a welfare standpoint, lethal stunning is
     3        preferable, is it not?
     4        A.  Lethal stunning is obviously the surest way of killing
     5        the birds in the quickest way.
     6
     7   Q.   So it is preferable from a welfare standpoint?
     8        A.  It might be preferable from a welfare standpoint,
     9        although my own is view is that if you are making birds
    10        unconscious -- are you listening?
    11
    12   Q.   Yes.
    13        A.  If you are making birds unconscious -- I mean, I feel
    14        very, very strongly about this.  I am trained to understand
    15        the system and the important thing is that the birds are
    16        made unconscious, and that they are unconscious the whole
    17        time through.  I am absolutely determined that that will
    18        always happen.  If you lethally kill a bird with electric
    19        shock, obviously, it will die more quickly, but if you make
    20        it unconscious and it bleeds to death subsequently, I do
    21        not see what difference that makes from a bird welfare
    22        point of view.
    23
    24   Q.   You have edited a book -- you have written a chapter in a
    25        book called In Practice Handbook Poultry Practice, the
    26        editor is Edward Beaumont.  Is that right?
    27        A.  Yes.
    28
    29   Q.   In that chapter you have stated that: "There is some
    30        controversy concerning stunning voltages and the use of
    31        lethal stunning may become more common as there seems to be
    32        no effect on efficiency at bleed out. From the welfare
    33        standpoint lethal stunning would be preferable."  You have
    34        not changed your mind since you wrote that?
    35        A.  That was written some time ago.  I have stated my
    36        view.  I have stated a view there.  If you lethally kill
    37        birds with an electric shock you do get massive hemorrhages
    38        in muscles which are undesirable from a customer-consumer
    39        point of view.  That knowledge I did not have when I wrote
    40        that piece which was actually seven or eight years ago now.
    41
    42   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, may I enquire where I am to find this
    43        piece?
    44
    45   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, and give the date as well.
    46
    47   MS. STEEL:  Actually it says 1993 but that is handwritten.  It
    48        is at document No. 5 of the Fifth Supplementary List or
    49        something like that, the latest bundle anyway.  Was it
    50        published in 1993? 
    51        A.  That group of articles was published in 1993 but the 
    52        original was written a long time ago.  It was a collection 
    53        of articles published in the veterinary record over the
    54        years.  I recollect it was probably originally written
    55        about six or seven years ago.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Have we identified it in a bundle?
    58
    59   MR. RAMPTON:  We are looking for it.
    60

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