Day 018 - 26 Jul 94 - Page 75
1 supervising veterinarians in abattoirs as to what they
should be doing in doing an inspection. There has been
2 quite a lot of flow of information to the MAFF veterinary
officers who are responsible for enforcement.
3
MR. JUSTICE BELL: Does that include Local Authority veterinary
4 inspectors?
A. A good question. The Ministry of Agriculture does
5 sponsor the training, special training for the local
authority veterinarians. They co-ordinate that training
6 programme, and so that they are monitoring the information
that is put over in those training courses. So they have
7 a close involvement in it. In fact, our people from
Bristol, our university, do the training on the welfare
8 side, but they actually join in at the time we do that.
So they are intimately involved with that.
9
MS. STEEL: So the codes of practice were brought in as a
10 result of this report?
A. Yes.
11
Q. Roughly, when were they brought in?
12 A. Roughly 1990.
13 Q. Right. The report that was made, that was based on the
industry as a whole, was it not? It was not, say, the
14 worst aspects of the industry?
A. I was not instrumental in writing the report and
15 collating the information that went into the report, so it
is difficult for me to answer that. I do not know fully
16 what the extent of the material was they reviewed.
17 Q. Right.
A. So can I bow out of that question?
18
Q. When the codes of practice were brought in, did that make
19 a difference on the ground as far as farming and slaughter
methods and welfare were involved?
20 A. I think for the first time it produced some literature
which actually went out, was available to go out, to the
21 abattoirs, and so the people doing the work themselves had
an opportunity to learn from written material. Can I add
22 one thing I have overlooked, that is, one of the
recommendations of the Farm Animal Welfare Council report
23 was to do training of an animal welfare officer who would
be a company employee at each plant.
24
So, he would become the trained animal welfare officer.
25 Now since that FAWC recommendations, an animal welfare
officer training course has been initiated and is still in
26 use, still in practice. That has been quite an effective
way of getting information over to personnel in the plant.
27
Q. So it has generally improved things?
28 A. I am confident that over the years that I have known
the abattoir industry there have been improvements in
29 standards, yes.
30 Q. Right.
A. I think there are some cases where there is still room
