Day 092 - 27 Feb 95 - Page 69
1 outside. On the outside there are a lot of diseases.
2 There are a lot of problems when you raise an animal on the
3 outside. You cannot control an animal in the open range.
4
5 Q. Well, you can have a fence around to restrict it to a
6 certain area, can you not?
7 A. You can do that, but you can tell me how you are going
8 to keep the animals from being sick. Tell me how you are
9 going to clean that?
10
11 Q. They do not get cleaned out while they are being reared?
12 A. So are you telling me, are you going to put them in a
13 fenced area and never clean it?
14
15 Q. Clean them out the with the same frequency as the indoor
16 sheds?
17 A. You do not know the industry. You do not know our
18 business. You cannot do that.
19
20 Q. How do you know? You have not tried it?
21 A. Show me some evidence that somebody has done it.
22
23 Q. I thought you had investigated all this?
24 A. Yes, there is plenty of evidence to support that. That
25 does not work. The animals will get sick. There is no
26 control over the environment. When it gets cold they will
27 have respiratory diseases. They will die.
28
29 Q. You get that in indoor sheds as well?
30 A. What was that?
31
32 Q. You get that in indoor sheds?
33 A. You get a lot better success control when they are
34 indoors. There are a lot of birds on the outside that
35 carry diseases. They have adapted but chickens are not.
36 They carry salmonella. They carry a lot of bacteria.
37
38 Q. Most of the birds that are reared outside live considerably
39 longer than the six or seven weeks at which you slaughter
40 them at Tysons?
41 A. They might live longer, they might, but then again they
42 might not. The chances are they are going to get sick.
43 They are going to lead a poor life.
44
45 Q. So you believe that all the chickens that live outside get
46 sick and basically die?
47 A. No. You are making a different statement. I said most
48 animal, yes. There is plenty of evidence to document that
49 the animals that live outside in an open environment are no
50 better. In fact, there are worse conditions. They are in
51 a worse physical condition than the animals that are reared
52 inside.
53
54 Q. Is that from comparing the mortality figures for outside
55 chickens that live for a couple of years?
56 A. No. It is comparing the physical condition of the
57 birds.
58
59 Q. But at what age?
60 A. At about the same age of 50 days, 60 days maximum.
