Day 113 - 03 Apr 95 - Page 41
1 limits are raised to accommodate what we think are still
2 bad practices. We think generally the MRLs should be
3 pushed down and down because the lower they are the safer
4 is the customer, consumer, from any danger that comes
5 through from these substances.
6
7 Q. Just to clarify this, when were you employed by Glaxo, this
8 was your area of specific research, was it, the effect of
9 -----
10 A. Well, no, it was an area we had to take of,
11 environmental effects of releasing antibiotics into the
12 environment. You have to think about the excretion of
13 antibiotics. You have to think how they are distributed.
14 If they are given to fish, you have to think about them
15 going into the sea. So, all of that, if you are being a
16 prudent and careful operator, you have to do the
17 appropriate tests.
18
19 If I could give you an example of ivermectins which are
20 anthelmintics, you see, they kill off worms in the gut. If
21 ivermectins are excreted by the cattle in the meadows,
22 there is a danger they kill off the dung beetle, so the cow
23 pats become persistent and perpetual. That would be very
24 serious. That is the sort of thing that a prudent and
25 careful manufacturer would take care of in good husbandry.
26
27 Q. I do recall reading last night something about
28 anthelmintics. I think it came up with Mr. Bowes saying it
29 was used for the pigs. What are they used for again?
30 A. Well, they are wormers. If you like, a familiar use is
31 with the dog. You call them "worming the dog". Helminths
32 are the technical name for the worms, and they are
33 antihelminths, so the word "anthelmintics" has been derived
34 for them.
35
36 Q. I might try check that out.
37 A. Ivermectin is an anthelmintic.
38
39 Q. I want to clear up a few bits and pieces that may have been
40 left out before we get on to slaughter. Do you have a
41 concern with the kind of diet that is fed to cattle in
42 cattle feed?
43 A. Yes, a great deal, because too high a protein diet to
44 an animal that is typically a ruminant upsets the
45 digestion, and a number of their problems are digestive
46 troubles as a result. Metabolic diseases, I have mentioned
47 those already. You do get trouble in the rumen, you do not
48 get a good rumination, and there does seem to be some
49 connection again which is not fully understood that this
50 contributes to the causes of lameness. This is a fairly
51 well attested connection, although it is not well
52 understood.
53
54 Also, dare I mention it, of course, what concerns us most
55 now is the effect of feed on the development of BSE. That
56 is very much a welfare matter because cows that are
57 suffering from BSE do suffer a great deal.
58
59 Q. What is the problem with the feed?
60 A. Well, the Ministry's explanation which seems to hold up
