Day 097 - 06 Mar 95 - Page 54
1
2 Q. Have you ever seen it?
3 A. I do not think -- no.
4
5 Q. You have been there 10 years?
6 A. Yes.
7
8 Q. How many animals a day are processed at Midland Meat
9 Packers?
10 A. 600 to 800.
11
12 Q. Then it says: "Keep handling and other disturbance
13 (including noise) to a minimum". Is noise a problem at a
14 slaughterhouse?
15 A. Yes. Obviously, it is kept to a minimum, as far as
16 possible, but it can be loud in a slaughterhouse, yes.
17
18 Q. It can be noisy?
19 A. Yes.
20
21 Q. There is moving machinery which is made of metal?
22 A. Exactly, yes.
23
24 Q. Do you think there is anything that can sensibly be done at
25 the present time to reduce the level of noise which is
26 found in slaughterhouses?
27 A. Bearing in mind the nature of the operation, the
28 machinery being used, I doubt very much that that noise
29 limit or noise level could be limited.
30
31 Q. Do you think there might come a time when the parts of
32 machinery are made of, let us say, graphite or ceramic or
33 plastic?
34 A. I suppose it is feasible, yes.
35
36 Q. But you know of no such system ---
37 A. Not at the moment, no.
38
39 Q. -- available at the present time? Then it says: "Ensure
40 that passageways are well lit and free from obstructions".
41 Is that an important consideration?
42 A. Yes, obviously, cattle have to see where they are going
43 and be able to move unobstructed.
44
45 Q. Is it important not to have sticking out nails, bits of
46 angle bars and that kind of thing?
47 A. Yes. We would not want to injure animals on the way up
48 to slaughter.
49
50 Q. What are your passageways made of?
51 A. Concrete walls, basically, smooth concrete walls.
52
53 Q. Smooth concrete walls. What about the footing for the
54 cattle? What is the floor made of?
55 A. A concrete floor.
56
57 Q. Is it smooth?
58 A. No, it is -- I do not know what you call it.
59
60 Q. Is it hatched or lines across it?
