Day 096 - 03 Mar 95 - Page 20
1 A. Absolutely.
2
3 Q. -- let the pig out, the sow out, is that what you are
4 saying?
5 A. Yes, you do one farrowing stall at a time.
6
7 MS. STEEL: If you could play on, thank you.
8
9 (The video recording continued)
10
11 MS. STEEL: Can you just pause there? The piglets that you saw
12 there, do any of your suppliers use a similar system to
13 that?
14 A. Yes, there could be possibilities of that. But when
15 I say "similar", they could be used specifically for what
16 we call hospital operations. That is that system, you can
17 have more control over your pig. I know in that film it
18 shows it being used as a totally commercial unit, but use
19 can that system to improve the life of the pig if it
20 becomes ill or the sow runs out of milk or she does not
21 milk or whatever. That is the option and that is used for
22 that purpose.
23
24 Q. So your suppliers, do they use it for any other purpose?
25 A. Not to my knowledge. I do not think any of them would
26 be commercially into that type of production.
27
28 Q. But if there were runts or something, that kind of
29 situation, then some of them would go into that kind of
30 setup?
31 A. Yes, for the benefit of the pig.
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause a moment. When the little ones
34 were being taken at the beginning of that excerpt were they
35 weaners ---
36 A. Yes.
37
38 Q. -- being weaned?
39 A. Yes.
40
41 (The video recording continued)
42
43 MS. STEEL: The pigs that were shown there, is that typical of a
44 dry sow store unit?
45 A. Yes, sows do that in a dry stall unit. As you are no
46 doubt aware, stalls are banned by 1999 in this country.
47 But quite an interesting point, all outdoor sows will
48 continually have a stone in their mouths, chew, chew, chew
49 chew. So, that is something quite peculiar, we feel, to
50 the pig. Whilst that does not look, I will agree, that
51 does not look natural or normal -- it probably is not --
52 but at the same time they do like to have something in
53 their mouths to chew.
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Were you including the tapping with the
56 trotter as something which happens in dry sow stalls as
57 well? There was chewing the rail and there was a pig
58 repeatedly -----
59 A. Personally, sir, I am fully in agreement with dry sow
60 stalls being banned.
