Day 112 - 31 Mar 95 - Page 44


     
     1
     2   MR. MORRIS:  Did the suggestion come up from either side that
     3        they could actually reduce the amount of cattle that were
     4        slaughtered per day?
     5        A.  Well, their suggestion was it would not be economic.
     6
     7   Q.   It would affect their profits?
     8        A.  That is right.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
    11
    12   MS. STEEL:  I have one question.  Mr. Rampton referred to
    13        Schedule 9 of the Fresh Meat Hygiene and Inspection
    14        Regulations 1992.  He read out part of paragraph (p): "No
    15        action is taken which might alter or destroy any evidence
    16        of any disease or contamination before inspection."
    17        Yesterday you mentioned about the possibility of pus being
    18        washed away.  Is that something that would come under that
    19        regulation?
    20        A.  Yes, of course it is.  Today I mentioned only the
    21        intestinal contamination because it is the more important,
    22        most definite by far more common than abscesses, even
    23        though abscesses in that area are reasonably commonplace as
    24        well.
    25
    26   Q.   They would be a sign of disease?
    27        A.  No.  They would just be -- normally if you find an
    28        abscess it would be a sign of the animal having eaten
    29        perhaps something sharp that had penetrated the
    30        oesophagus.  Cattle have a very good ability to isolate
    31        this sort of small incidents inside their body and they
    32        usually do it by abscess forming.  These are usually intact
    33        abscesses and do not usually spread into the blood of the
    34        animal.  They usually stay as abscess throughout the
    35        animal's life.  The risk appears at the slaughter when you
    36        are cutting up the animal and you do not know about the
    37        existence of abscess, and you penetrate it by a knife or
    38        cut it open.  Usually if the abscess is not cut open we can
    39        quite safely remove it and pass the test of the carcass
    40        safely after examining the lymph nodes for any further
    41        spread of the infection.
    42
    43   Q.   What would be the risk if it was not removed?
    44        A.  If the abscess was not removed?
    45
    46   Q.   Yes.
    47        A.  Then we would obviously have a risk of contaminating
    48        the meat as well during the process.
    49
    50   MR. MORRIS:  Thank you very much. 
    51 
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Thank you, Ms. Hovi.  You may or may not be 
    53        asked to return to court, but that is not your concern; it
    54        will be for someone else to tell you if you are.  Thank you
    55        very much.
    56
    57                       (The witness withdrew).
    58
    59   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, would this be a convenient moment to
    60        respond to your Lordship's invitation delivered not so long

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