Day 113 - 03 Apr 95 - Page 45
1 Q. England, Wales, Scotland?
2 A. I think it is about -- it is going down all the time --
3 I think it is about 450 at the moment, but some of those
4 are limited to slaughtering only one species, like sheep or
5 pigs.
6
7 Q. So it will be something less that would be cattle
8 slaughterhouses?
9 A. Yes, probably about 80 per cent of that number would
10 slaughter cattle amongst other animals.
11
12 Q. So, if McKey's (which is a supplier of McDonald's) used the
13 services of anything up to 70 abattoirs, what conclusion
14 would you draw from that in terms of general conditions in
15 the industry?
16 A. Well, the conditions are harsh. I know when the BSE
17 epidemic started, about 40 cows arrived at British
18 slaughterhouses with signs of BSE. In other words, they
19 were, if you like, fallen animals. They were diseased.
20 That was a rush because there was this new disease.
21
22 Q. No, what I mean is that if McDonald's uses the services of,
23 say, or cattle for McDonald's products go through 70 out
24 of, say, whatever it is, nearly 400 slaughterhouses, what
25 I am saying, you have talked about the general conditions
26 in the industry?
27 A. Yes.
28
29 Q. Would that or would it not apply to that kind of volume of
30 beef that is going through 70 slaughterhouses?
31 A. They would have the going rate of fallen stock.
32
33 Q. No, I do not mean fallen stock; I mean just general
34 conditions in the industry. May be if I ask it in a
35 leading way -----
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, I understand what you are -- what you are
38 really being asked is whether you, from your point of view,
39 have any reason to suppose that the circumstances of the
40 animals which go to abattoirs which supply McDonald's
41 suppliers with beef are any different to such general
42 circumstances as prevail within the industry?
43 A. I would think they were standard.
44
45 MR. MORRIS: If we can just move along the killing line, if you
46 like, quickly go through and say what your welfare concerns
47 would be at each stage up to the actual slaughter stage?
48 A. The main things are the loading of the animal, the
49 unloading, the lairage, what conditions there are on the
50 lairage, how long they spend in the lairage, how calm they
51 are, have they got feed, have they got water, have they got
52 fresh straw, is ventilation good, are they being stressed
53 by being mixed in groups, are they being driven into the
54 stunning area satisfactorily, is the design of the
55 slaughterhouse in agreement with the Ministry, the Ministry
56 has booklets on this, that means are the surfaces right,
57 are they slippery, are they corrosive, are there sharp
58 corners, is there a lot of noise, do the drovers use sticks
59 and goads, and how calmly do that go into the stunning box
60 in the first way.
